A Little Becky Will Do
by Tuxedo Will
Summary: Don Karnage and his Air Pirates cast a little shadow over the crew at Higher for Hire but as they say, every cloud has a silver lining and that gives little Rebecca big trouble.
1. Prologue & Chapter 1 Tiger Trap

**A Little Becky Will Do**  
By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "_A Little Becky Will Do_" are copyrighted ©2009-2010 by Will Wolfshohl and Douglas Helm.

Authors' Foreword:

Greetings and welcome to this TaleSpin® Fanfiction! "_A Little Becky Will Do_" has been sitting on the Future Projects pile ever since our TaleSpin/Sailor Moon crossover story _Bear Bunnies_ was completed. We figured it was a good time to get this one actually written and out to the readers. Please feel free to comment. We hope you enjoy it.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.

Rating: **PG**

**Prologue**

**A** foghorn's mournful cry and the clang of buoys sounded across Cape Suzette harbor echoing off of the cliffs that protected the city. A cold December drizzle pattered against the windows of a small home close to the wharfs. Outside might have been dark, cold, and wet but inside was warm, dry, and bright.

Sounds of dishes being washed and female laughter floated out from the bright kitchen to the snug little living room. In the living room sat a brown bear who kneaded his right knee for a moment before lifting the evening newspaper.

'Forced out of my own kitchen!' the bear complained to himself with a chuckle as he scanned the front page. His reading didn't last long however.

"What's this, Grandpa?"

Eighty-two year old Kit Cloudkicker looked up from the evening newspaper to find his six year old great-granddaughter carrying a dog-eared and timeworn book. The little bearess had very dark fur and large brown eyes. Putting aside the paper, he smiled and reached for it. The child let it go gratefully and the elder Cloudkicker was surprised by the weight. 'Or I'm getting old,' he mentally thought with a snort. Opening the cover, his smile grew even wider. "This is a picture album." The retired aviator gave the youngster a sly look. "Where'd you get this, munchkin?"

"I just found it," she answered, not bothering directly to answer the question. Those big brown eyes of hers twinkled up at him.

'In other words,' Kit deduced, 'She was into something that she shouldn't have been into.' Chuckling a little, he patted his knee and the little bearess indulged him by climbing onto his lap and snuggling back against him. "See," he began while shifting the photo album so it was directly in front of her, "These are all old pictures."

"As old as you?"

"I'm _not_ that old!" he complained and found her ticklish spot, which made her squeal in protest. Chuckling again, he hugged her and let the little girl flip through the pages. 'I haven't looked at this in years,' he thought, 'My taste in clothes hasn't changed much.' He glanced down at his great-granddaughter sitting in his lap and thought again that she didn't dress like a little girl should. But then, Kit thought most little girls should wear dresses. 'Maybe that's why all of my kids took to jeans, even at their age!' His mental commentary on children's fashions was interrupted by a question.

"Who's that, Grandpa?" She pointed at one of the people in it.

Kit looked at the picture and was momentarily confused. Sure, Baloo was easy enough to pick out and so was Molly who looked about six then. What confused him briefly was the other subject in the photograph but when the identity came to him, he started to chuckle.

"What?" the little girl asked.

"How'd you like Grandpa to tell you a story?"

"Yeah!"

Kit grinned, settled himself more comfortably onto the couch, shifted the six year old to his right leg, and began the tale.

**Chapter 1 "Tiger Trap"**

**C**ape Suzette was a busy growing city with both ships and seaplanes using its protected harbor to transport the city's goods and services to the rest of the globe.

Higher for Hire was a small air cargo company. As companies went, it was rather a motley lot. There was of course Baloo Bear, chief pilot and sometimes owner of the company's only plane, the Seaduck. There was Wildcat a lion with a childlike personality but a sheer genius for anything mechanical. And while not an employee technically, Molly Elizabeth Cunningham could normally be found in and around the environs of the Higher for Hire offices because her mother Rebecca Cunningham owned and managed it. She'd scooped up Baloo's Air Service when Baloo defaulted on his payments to the bank. Rounding out the staff was Kit Cloudkicker, navigator and hopeful future pilot.

At twelve years of age, Kit was in that awkward stage of life where he thought he was old enough to do lots of things but not old enough to hope to convince the adults in his life of that fact. The brown bear cub could have left. He'd spent most of his twelve years fending for himself. He'd lived with the Air Pirates, been a hobo, and even did a brief stint in an orphanage. Kit would not run away however, no matter how annoying or parental Baloo and Rebecca seemed to become. This was mainly because he'd gotten himself into enough scrapes in his young life to realize that he didn't know everything and sometimes adults were actually right. Kit would never claim them as his parents but they certainly acted like it, though Rebecca more than Baloo.

While any argument between the two adult bears involving him was always of interest to him, it was the arguments involving Molly Cunningham that Kit gave the most scrutiny. Molly, at six, was a rambunctious golden-furred bear cub with a mind of her own and more courage than any little girl had the right to have, at least as far as Kit was concerned. Kit took an avid interest in these arguments because any results tended to splash onto him eventually. So it was on that gray rainy Tuesday near the start of summer vacation that Kit watched with fascination as Baloo and Ms. Cunningham argued.

"Rebecca," Baloo began with studied patience. That was never a good sign in the preteen's opinion. It meant the big bear was close to losing his temper. "All I'm askin' is ya find a 'sitter for Molly so my ears can get a bit of peace and quiet."

"It's summer vacation, Baloo," Rebecca argued, not looking up from her paperwork, "Besides, Kit can look after Molly if it comes to that." She lifted brown eyes to smile at him.

'Kit does NOT want to look after Molly!' Kit whined, 'There's only so much 'Danger Woman' a guy can take!' "Uh... well..."

Thankfully, Baloo came to his rescue. "He's nearly grown up. He has friends of his own, and besides, what guy would wanna drag his little sister to a ballgame he was getting up?"

"She's NOT my little sister!" the brown cub protested. The twelve year old liked Molly well enough but he didn't want Rebecca getting any ideas. After all, the kid was just a baby first-grader. "And Ms. Cunningham, weren't you just saying that Molly keeps distracting Wildcat?" Baloo shot him a grin.

"Babysitters cost money," Becky complained.

"Danger Woman doesn't need a babysitter!" came a high-pitched voice. Baloo, Becky, and Kit turned to see the subject of their discussion in the doorway to the warehouse. The golden bear cub was wearing her Danger Woman outfit complete with cape. Tucked under one arm was her doll Lucy and in both of her paws was a goldfish bowl. She came over to the desk, plunked the glass bowl down hard enough to make Kit wince, and announced, "Mommy, I'm not a baby. I'm six and a half!"

"Honey, what are you doing with that goldfish bowl?"

"It's not a goldfish bowl, Mommy," Molly disagreed, putting Lucy on the desk and then turning the bowl upside down. "See it's a crystal ball. I'm gonna tell the future."

"Sweetheart, where'd you get that?" Rebecca asked.

"In a box."

"What box?"

"The one in there," the child replied while gesturing with her left hand at the still open door into the warehouse. She turned her gaze onto the bowl and started waving her hands over it as if she was some sort of mystic.

"I knew it," Baloo interjected. He'd moved to look into the warehouse but now turned back to glare at his boss. "Little Miss Fortuneteller here opened one of the cargo crates... again."

"Molly," her mother said, "We talked about this, honey. You shouldn't play with the cargo. Our customers wouldn't like it."

"But it was lonely, Mommy," the six year old reasoned.

"Lonely?" Kit asked, coming over from his spot on the stairs to heft the goldfish bowl up, "How can a goldfish bowl be lonely?"

"It's not a goldfish bowl, Kit. It's a crystal ball," Molly corrected, "And it was lonely because it was in the dark and nobody wanted to play with her."

"It's now a her," Baloo muttered. "Becky, didn't you promise me...?"

"Not now, Baloo," Rebecca interrupted him. She took the bowl from Kit and then said to Molly, "Sweetheart, this isn't something you can play with. Now come on and we'll put it back."

"But Mommy!"

"Now Molly," Rebecca stated a little more firmly.

"But Mommy!" Molly whined.

"Molly Elizabeth Cunningham," Rebecca hissed with her hands on her hips, "You take this bowl and put it back where you found it this instant."

"No!" Molly huffed, crossing her arms and glowering.

Kit had been startled the first time he'd seen Molly defy her mother. Now though, it was a typical occurrence and it generally ended the same way. Enviably, Becky caved in, saying that when Molly went home that night she'd have to leave the goldfish bowl there. Of course, the little bearess was overjoyed. Baloo, on the other hand, was disgusted and headed for the kitchen. Kit followed wondering if he could maybe talk Baloo into heading out to Louie's Place for a Krakatau Sundae.

- - - - -

Higher for Hire was not the only firm working that rainy summer afternoon. Several companies had facilities located in the bustling city and on this one particularly rainy day, one lab inside a large office building was especially busy.

Harsh lights shone down on the scientists clustered around a bank of large switches, gauges, and knobs. It sat in the middle of the laboratory floor. The control panel's massive lights blinked on and off in mysterious patterns. One more time, technicians ensured that the complex of tubes, wires, and cables running the machine were properly connected and functioning. Everything had to work properly. A special visitor was in attendance that day, and this visitor did not take kindly to failure.

To describe exactly what the machine looked like would have been difficult. Perhaps the best description would have been a pipe organ crossed with a vacuum cleaner, an overgrown vacuum cleaner. The technicians in charge of making sure everything worked might have had an easier time of it if they'd understood the less than helpful drawing its eccentric inventor used as blueprints. It was mainly sheer guesswork and a lot of hair pulling.

Dr. Zivaldo, the inventor and chief architect of the machine, was humming to himself and buttering a piece of toast. The fox was completely unaware of the nervous activity surrounding him. His staff had grown used to his short attention span and his obsession with buttered toast. He was just about to take his first bite of it when someone interrupted him.

"Doctor?" Turning, he saw a tigress dressed in a lab coat leading a golden retriever by a leash. "We're ready."

"Ready?" the doctor questioned, blinking at her, "Do I know you, lady?" There were so many people around this place but he had so many ideas distracting him that names got either forgotten or confused. "Would you like a piece of toast?"

"No," the thirtyish tigress said, trying hard not to show her impatience. She glanced to the side to see how their visitor was taking this all in and then back to the scientist. "Dr. Zivaldo, I have the test subject you requested - a canis lupus familiaris." She pointed at the dog. "We're ready to test the machine, remember?"

"Oh right!" he declared, offering the toast to the dog who wolfed it down. "Let's get started then." He took the animal by the leash and started to lead it towards the machine, the entire time humming to himself. The dog, not really caring where it went as long as it got more food, followed the good doctor, tail wagging, and tongue lolling out. Dr. Zivaldo paused near one corner of the machine and frowned as if puzzled by something. "What's that?" he demanded, jabbing a finger at the Kahn Industries logo.

"It's our company logo, sir," someone answered him.

"Company? I work for a company?" He took on a pensive look. "Does it have good health benefits?"

"You'll need them if you don't get the experiment going," the tigress growled, teeth bared.

"Oh right!" the fox exclaimed. Turning to the dog, he was about to ask what it was about before he caught the look on his assistant's face and led the animal onto the small platform.

It was diamond-shaped with a large rod sticking out of one corner. The rod was capped by a blue pulsing orb. Once the golden retriever was in position, he dropped the leash and turned to go but the dog started to follow. "Sit," he commanded, "Stay." The dog gave him a baleful look but did as it was told. Maybe he would get another meal.

"Okay, let's get going!" he shouted and then gaped as a dozen people sprang into action. "Where'd all these people come from?" Shaking the question off, he strode towards the control console. 'No matter, they are all gathered here to see my genius at work!' Climbing onto the control panel, he picked his way towards a large radio dial which was nearly twice as large as he was and started to spin it counterclockwise. Having turned it as far as he could go, Zivaldo turned to an even larger dial and rotated it clockwise a little.

"Stand by!" the scientist declared. The white lab-coated technicians and assistants scattered taking cover under desks and behind filing cabinets. Zivaldo didn't even notice this behavior as he strode towards a large knife switch and pulled it down hard.

Nothing happened.

"Why didn't it work? It worked yesterday," Dr. Zivaldo whined.

While the fox was trying to puzzle out the answer, a rather brave sole hurried over and plugged the machine into the massive wall outlet causing a brief dance of static electricity. Dr. Zivaldo let out a cry of delight and started saying something about the power of his mind but it was lost in the thrumming that the massive machine was emitting. Status lights, some of which no one understood, started blinking. The rods surrounding the dog started to glow. The poor animal lay down and covered its head with its paws.

The first blue orb flashed several times before a bolt of blue-white electricity pulsed from it and slammed into the second orb. The second followed suit before sending its own electrical pulse to the third and so on. The lights began to flicker as the machine drew more power and then in a sudden flash and rush of air, the power condensed and descended onto the golden retriever. The dog let out a howl of fear but it seemed to climb in pitch and became almost mournful. There was a shudder, a bang, and then everything stilled.

The lights in the lab came back to normal and everyone looked around for possible casualties. They were all startled by Dr. Zivaldo shouting and dancing around. "It worked! It worked!" he crowed as he danced up to the platform and scooped up not a fully grown golden retriever but a puppy. "Oh, are you just the cutest thing!" The energetic puppy squirmed free, dropped to the ground, and with a growl started to chase the mad scientist.

Meanwhile, Zivaldo's assistant approached their guest. "Mr. Kahn," she began addressing the impeccably dressed tiger in a black suit, white shirt, and red power tie, "The test was successful."

"Excellent," Shere Kahn replied, pushing himself off of the wall. He regarded the inventor who'd been trapped up against one of the machine's rods by the new puppy. "You've done excellent work, doctor." He smiled slightly. His gamble to hire the eccentric scientist was finally paying off. "See to Dr. Zivaldo, we might need him in the future and..." He stopped upon seeing his personal secretary bustling towards him, a grim look on her face. Dr. Zivaldo's assistant retreated to give the two of them privacy. "Yes?"

"Sir, there are people from the government in your office," the hard-faced woman declared. She sounded displeased. "They practically demanded a meeting in regards to the device."

Shere Kahn controlled his expression and merely nodded. "Thank you. I will see to them." He walked past his secretary and entered the elevator. Turning to the elevator operator, he said, "My office." The operator nodded, quickly closed the doors, and started the elevator.

As he waited for his floor, Kahn mentally frowned. He knew the government of Cape Suzette would likely want this machine. The question was how had they found out about it? Dr. Zivaldo rarely left his lab and when he did, he was under close supervision by Kahn's elite security forces. 'You'll have time to find the leak later,' Kahn told himself,

'Now you have to find out what these men want.' He continued to brood for the rest of the trip up the elevator shaft.

"Your floor, Mr. Kahn." Stepping out of the elevator, the tiger passed through the anteroom of his massive office and then entered into the office proper. There he found several high-ranking military officials as well as what he took to be a bureaucrat.

He took a moment to examine the effect of his office had on those lesser beings before him. Most seemed awed, which was the effect that Kahn wanted. The two story windows that stood behind his desk gave an uninterrupted view of Cape Suzette. The deep red carpeting gave a certain flare to the gold and marble that lined the office's walls. Plants were strategically placed. One for example hid the stairs to the second floor where his library was located, another to his private penthouse residence. He never slept far from the action of his company.

"Gentlemen," he greeted them. The tiger was amused to see them jump. He smiled just enough to show his fangs. He padded down the long red carpet that led to his desk examining his guests.

"Mr. Kahn," an oily looking man began. He was a dog with his black hair parted down the middle. His smile didn't reach his eyes. "So how did the testing go?"

Kahn never broke stride as he walked around the large desk and ensconced himself in the high-backed chair folding his paws. "Testing?"

"Come now, Mr. Kahn," a bulldog major piped in, "Don't play games. We know you were testing a new device that regresses people."

"Your information is incomplete I see," Kahn offered, mentally seething at the leak. "We have not tested the machine on people."

"So you do have such a machine?" This from a mournful looking colonel with drooping ears. His nametag read "Grog".

"We have a prototype, gentlemen," Kahn admitted carefully, "And we did conduct a test today, but it wasn't on a person."

"I see..." the bureaucrat smoothly put in before the colonel could say anything, "Well, Mr. Kahn, we... the Government of Cape Suzette would like to buy the machine from you."

"It's not for sale."

"Come now, be reasonable. Certainly, the offer I made to you over the phone is more than enough to compensate your company for any R&D costs you are out. Plus you would be doing a great service to Cape Suzette."

"It's not for sale, gentlemen," Kahn reiterated more firmly, "Kahn Industries does not sell its prototypes. That is what this machine is."

"We'll just have to take it then, Kahn," the major announced. Kahn narrowed his eyes.

"Take it?" he asked in a silky tone that barely concealed his anger.

"Yes, that PROTOTYPE..." the bulldog stressed, "could be classified as a weapon and THAT falls within the purview of the military."

"It's called 'eminent domain' as you well know," the bureaucrat added with a smirk. "Now, Mr. Kahn, shall we discuss terms?"

Twenty minutes later, Shere Kahn was alone in his office. He stared out of the window overlooking the City of Cape Suzette trying desperately to calm the rage seething inside him. It only took a few moments. Turning back, he lifted the phone and dialed a number. When it was picked up, he said, "Yes, we have a problem. We need something shipped... discreetly." Not waiting for an answer, he replaced the receiver on the hook and steepled his fingers. 'I don't lose... to anyone or anything.'

- - - - -

Baloo Bear listened to the stillness of Higher for Hire, let out a long slow sigh, and closed his eyes. Today had been a hard day. He knew he'd have to patch things up with Rebecca but that could wait for tomorrow. He glanced out the window and noticed that the lights in Wildcat's hut were out. He watched for a moment to see if the mechanic might be headed towards the office but all seemed still and quiet; a buoy in the harbor clanged and a boat's mournful whistle blew.

Stepping back into the gloom of the office, he glanced upstairs to where he shared a room with Kit. The preteen had gone to bed a couple of hours ago. Baloo knew that he should be in his own bed but there was something he wanted to do.

Going over to his favorite chair, he shifted the well-used piece of furniture slightly so he could access a floorboard. Glancing once more at the stairs, he used a finger to pry one of the boards upwards and then reached inside to draw out a small metal box.

The big bear had hidden it previously in the warehouse, at least until Kit had found him stashing money there. Baloo would share a lot with his partner but what was in this box was something that was just for him. Rebecca knew but she never brought it up unless he did... and Baloo rarely did.

Settling himself into the easy chair, the gray bear placed the box gently on his lap and opened it. Reaching inside, he took out a picture and gazed down at the subjects: mother, father... daughter.

Baloo closed his eyes and whispered, "Happy birthday, baby."

Coming next in **Chapter 2 "Loading Up"**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


	2. Chapter 2 Loading Up

**A Little Becky Will Do**  
By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "_A Little Becky Will Do_" are copyrighted ©2009-2010 by Will Wolfshohl and Douglas Helm.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.

**Chapter 2 "Loading Up"**

**B**y the following morning, the rain had stopped. The kitchen at Higher for Hire was silent save for the sounds of two people eating breakfast. Baloo yawned and drank some of his coffee. Setting his mug down, he balled his paw into a fist and leaned his cheek against it while closing his eyes.

"What are you up, Papa Bear?" his companion finally asked.

"Thought maybe I'd get my engines revved up before the boss lady and the '_Yellow Flash_' show up." The big bear opened his eyes when his young navigator snickered. "Maybe Beckers'll see sense for once."

"Ms. Cunningham's all right, Baloo," Kit protested. When his large friend grunted, he remarked, "I don't see why you and her fight over Molly anyway. You don't fight over me... much."

Baloo straightened, drained the remainder from his coffee cup, and poured himself a refill. "Well, Little Britches, I tell ya how it is. See there's a lot of difference between six and twelve and I ain't just talking about the inches neither." He grabbed a slice of toast, took a bite, and continued, "I know you're a responsible kinda guy. More responsible than me most of the time. You've been looking after yourself most ways since you were little. Me and Beckers get ta arguing sometimes over the fact that she thinks you still need babying but I don't." He sipped more coffee and took another slice of toast. "The few times you've done dumb things... Well... Me and Becky agree." He shrugged then. "'Sides, she relies on you to keep me on course and flying level. For life, well I'll correct your course now and then but I ain't your autopilot."

Kit pondered what the older bear had said. 'I suppose Baloo's right in a lot of ways,' Kit realized as he ate some cereal, 'Ms. Cunningham does try to mother me. It's nice sometimes but...' He really didn't have a frame of reference though; he'd never had a mother. The closest he'd ever come before Baloo and Rebecca to parents had been some of the older air hobos. They'd looked after him when he was little (like Molly) but once he'd gotten older, they allowed him plenty of freedom. Like those hobos, Baloo allowed him to make his own mistakes and helped keep the bigger ones from becoming fatal. 'Becky wants to keep me wrapped up in packing, just like she does Molly.' Shaking his head, he asked, "So what about Molly, Baloo?"

The big bear sipped some more coffee and then replied, "I look at how Becky handles the scrapes that Molly gets into and then I think about how my momma would've reacted. A parent's got to help their kid plot a flight path through life, give 'em the skills so that they know how to get out of trouble."

"And Rebecca isn't doing that?" the preteen bear assumed.

"Aww, she does all right _most_ of the time, Kit. But like yesterday, instead of putting her foot down, she gave in. That'll lead to some crashes later on and I don't think Molly will be able to walk away if that happens."

Kit was strongly reminded of that one weekend. Baloo and Rebecca had gone to Winger City on an overnight business trip leaving him to babysit Molly. At the time, he was proud they had trusted him with the job even if it was just babysitting and Wildcat would still have to check on them.

Nevertheless, when a man from his past had suddenly showed up at Becky's apartment door, Kit had panicked and ran away, not knowing that Molly had tagged along. The bear cub had only discovered his young charge when he'd opened his trunk. 'Molly sure had a near miss then.' Molly had bullied him into returning to Cape Suzette and on their way back, they'd been caught by a bunch of bandits. Somehow, they'd arrived back at the apartment just ahead of Rebecca and Baloo. 'It's a good thing we got Wildcat not to tattle on us...' Kit shivered. His boss would never let Molly out of her sight again if she'd ever learned what happened. He glanced up at Baloo and thought, 'I wouldn't want Baloo to find out about that either. He'd be madder than anything.'

"You okay, kid?"

"What?" Kit asked, startled slightly.

"You had this worried look."

Kit shook his head. "I'm fine, Papa Bear." Pushing his bowl away, he folded his arms on the table and asked, "So, if you were Molly's dad, what would you have done yesterday?"

Baloo considered and then standing offered, "Well, kid, let's put it this way. Pigtails would've been sent home with her own personal nightlight." With that, he put his dishes in the sink and then went out the back door. It took a few moments after that for the brown bear cub to decipher Baloo's meaning. When he did, the youngster was a little surprised. Baloo didn't seem the sort.

- - - - -

Rebecca Cunningham arrived at her business shortly after eight that morning. She swept into the office with a smile and a cheery, "Good morning!"

She was a little startled when Baloo answered with, "Good morning, Rebecca. You seem awful chipper today." The big bear glanced about and then cocked an ear. "Where's Pigtails?"

"Molly's at a '_sleepover_' with one of her friends," Becky replied while walking to the desk, "Jillian said she'd sit Molly for me today until five if I agreed to sit Crystal next Tuesday."

Kit who'd been standing beside the kitchen door laughed. "You drank all that coffee for nothing, Papa Bear!"

"What?"

"Baloo got up early and... I think he said tried to '_get his engines revved up_' so he could keep up with Molly today," Kit explained while chuckling. His friend's glare didn't faze him in the least.

"Well," Rebecca remarked with only a slightly teasing note to her voice, "Just think of it this way, Baloo. That'll be good practice for you next Tuesday."

"Har de har har," Baloo told Kit but then shrugged, "Thanks for the warning. So what else has you so chipper, Beckers?"

"Shere Kahn called me last night," the brown bearess began, "I just came from his office. He wants us to make a _special_ cargo delivery." Then with a big smile, she continued, "He's even promised us a bonus to get it there on-time." Baloo who'd been leaning back in her chair bolted upright and Kit stopped his snickering.

'Uh oh...' "What's he want us to ship?"

"And where to?" Kit chimed in then wondered out loud, "Ya know, Ms. Cunningham, don't you think it's a little suspicious that he'd choose us when his own planes could do the job?"

"That's why I got the details first, Kit," the bearess declared while digging in her purse. She pulled out some pages and scanned them yet again. "Apparently, it's a prototype engine." She looked up at her crew. "He doesn't think the Air Pirates will know about this since it's been kept pretty hush-hush but he'd rather keep it low key... And besides, Baloo's had more luck fighting off Karnage's goons than most of his pilots."

As Baloo reached out and took the sheets of paper from his boss to peruse, she answered Kit's question. The youngster frowned and went off to pull one of his charts.

Baloo read it and whistled. "Well, I'm glad you didn't bring Molly today, Beckers."

"Why?" the brunette asked him.

"'Cuz me 'n' Wildcat will have to remove the bunk and clear everything else out in the cargo hold. Don't need to have Pigtails underfoot while we're trying to work. We'll also need to back the 'Duck up to the dock so we can lower the cargo ramp. No way this doohickey will fit through the side door."

Rebecca frowned. "The weight doesn't exceed our lift capacity, does it?" Baloo grinned at her and she grinned back. It had taken her a little while to get used to using such technical jargon.

"No, ol' Kahny probably knew it wouldn't before he asked ya... But depending on how they crate it, we'll want to make sure that thing's tied down but good." The gray bear shook his head. "Remember what happened the last time we were carrying something heavy and it rolled?" She did and the results hadn't been pleasant. Just then, Kit came back into the room carrying a map and looking fairly content. "Well Britches?"

"Straight in and out run, Baloo," Kit declared. "No problem. We'll need to fill up at Louie's though."

"Why?" Rebecca asked. Not that she doubted his navigational skills but the preteen had a weakness for Louie's sweets like Baloo did.

"Safety, Ms. Cunningham." The bear cub explained, "We could probably just get from here to Shere Kahn's warehouse on Pearl Fish Island and back on a full tank but if we hit any trouble like headwinds and stuff along the way... I'd rather we have the extra fuel and Louie's Place is in that direction." He glanced at Baloo. "So what do you say, Papa Bear?"

"I'd ask Becky, kid. _She's_ flyin' this run." Both Rebecca and Kit blinked and then regarded each other before glancing back at Baloo.

"Me?" Becky asked.

"Sure, Becky, I promised you some flight time and this delivery seems like a milk-run to me," Baloo commented as he looked at the chart Kit had. "I've been over that way a few times. We shouldn't have any trouble except maybe a good blow and if that happens, I ain't gonna let the Seaduck go, not this heavily loaded."

"So, Ms. Cunningham, should I plot a route via Louie's or a direct run?" the young navigator inquired.

"Louie's Place," Rebecca answered but quickly added, "But we're just stopping long enough to refuel."

"Yes, ma'am." Kit looked unhappy; Baloo only nodded.

"I take it you're coming with us, Baloo?" she assumed.

"Unless you want me minding the store?" Baloo offered.

"No, it's not that... It's if something happens... Well, I'll be the first one to admit I'm still wet behind the ears when it comes to flying."

"Fine, Beckers, I'll go get Wildcat and we'll rig the third seat in the cockpit. In the meantime, here you go, _captain_." He handed the bearess his pilot's cap.

"And I'll call Jillian and see if she'll keep Molly through supper. That should give us enough time."

"Careful Beckers," the gray bear cautioned, "You might be in for a real sleepover... Actually, that wouldn't be too bad." He pictured the cute six year old bunny-girl. "Crystal's a nice little girl." 'A lot less energetic than Pigtails.'

Kit who was safely out of reach quipped, "You just like her calling you _Gran'pa_!" Baloo glared after the preteen who dashed up the stairs.

"Just take it as practice for when he has kids," Rebecca offered with a giggle. She giggled again as Baloo went outside grumbling to himself.

- - - - -

Rebecca dried her hands and then checked her watch. "8:30... half an hour to go," she told herself as she left the bathroom on the second floor of Higher for Hire. 'Stop acting like this is your first mission! What are you going to do if you ever need to fly solo?' She tried to picture an instance when that would ever happen and couldn't. She was distracted from her thoughts as she passed the small bedroom that Kit and Baloo shared.

Her navigator was stretched out on his stomach on his hammock frowning down at a map. 'I wonder if he's found a problem?' the mother of one asked herself and softly entered the room. Kit didn't look up from the chart, apparently didn't even realize that she was there. As Rebecca drew closer and could begin to make out some of the names on it, she didn't recognize any of the island names. "Planning your annual treasure hunt with Baloo already, Kit?" His reaction was interesting. He covered the map as if he'd been caught with something obscene.

"N-No," the bear cub said in a squeaky voice, "I wouldn't want to take Baloo there."

'Curious,' she thought but a possibility struck her and she couldn't resist teasing the cub, "Ah I see... you're planning your first date. I don't think Baloo will be happy if you sneak off with the Seaduck though."

"**Ms. Cunningham!**" Kit whined his face going a brilliant red, "I wouldn't take the Seaduck... Papa Bear would kill me!" She noticed that the young man didn't deny the possibility of a date however.

"Well, I suppose I could fly you out if..." Becky volunteered.

"It's not for a date!" the cub hissed and stuffed the map under his pillow.

Curious now, Becky settled herself onto Baloo's bed and asked, "So, what's so special about it, Kit?" The youngster pushed himself up and shifted uneasily. "Air Pirates base?" she guessed.

"No," Kit answered while shaking his head, "That's south."

"Then what?" the bearess asked in frank curiosity.

The twelve year old shifted again and then sighing explained, "It's where I grew up, Ms. Cunningham." She was thankful she was sitting down; a feather could have knocked her over. "Please don't tell Baloo." He clearly hadn't wanted to tell her.

"Why ever not?"

"Papa Bear... he wouldn't understand."

Rebecca thought that was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard. Nevertheless, the bearess had a lot more tact than Baloo so asked instead of arguing, "What got you thinking of your home?"

Kit shrugged. "Baloo and I were talking this morning about family and stuff, Ms. Cunningham. That got me thinking I hadn't seen the other Air Hobos in awhile." He mentally crossed his fingers at telling that fib. "I had never plotted a route to it before, at least with a real map and stuff, so I thought I'd give it a try while we were waiting for the cargo to show up."

"And what family stuff were you and Baloo talking about?"

"Just stuff," Kit replied simply.

"About Molly?" she guessed. Kit didn't say anything but he didn't have to, his guilty reaction revealed volumes. 'He's kind of like Baloo in some ways,' she considered. Smiling softly at the preteen cub before her, she offered, "That just tells me Baloo cares, Kit. He wouldn't get so annoyed at me if he didn't care about Molly." Getting up, she left the young bear alone looking thoughtful.

- - - - -

Baloo had nearly reached the front entrance of Higher for Hire when Rebecca came out of it. The bearess glanced at her watch and then up the street. "Any minute now."

"Easy Becky." Baloo smiled. She sounded nervous. 'Better give her something to do,' he thought. "Tell ya what, why don't ya preflight the 'Duck?"

Rebecca whipped around and stared at him. "Why? What's wrong with it?"

Baloo blinked. "Nothing... Beckers, is there somethin' you're not telling me? You seem awful jumpy for just a milk-run."

She made a face but then sighed. "Just excited I guess." She grinned up at him. "You know how I get, Baloo. I'm not a natural born pilot like you are, or Kit for that matter."

"Li'l Britches?" Baloo countered, "He's NOT a natural flyer."

"How can you say that?!" the brunette demanded, "He knows far more about airplanes than I do!"

The big bear chuckled and put a hand on Rebecca's shoulder. "Becky, Kit's the best navigator I've seen but there's knowin' and doin'. You've done a lot more doin' than Kit has when it comes to planes." He was not going to tell her about Kit's little adventure with Colonel Spigot. 'She'd ground him for sure.' "He's got a lot of book smarts but I wouldn't hand him the keys to the Seaduck." 'Yet.'

"Really?" she asked him.

"Really," Baloo agreed and then decided he'd offer a bit of advice, "Now see, I know the 'Duck's quirks. But a good pilot _always_ checks his plane before a flight. Do it now while we're waiting and do it again after the cargo's loaded."

"So, what should I check, Baloo?" she asked him.

"Get the kid. He'll tell you." Baloo watched his boss wander off to find Kit and started humming to himself as he settled his bulk against the wall. He looked up at the blue sky with its streaks of white clouds and sighed in contentment. Next, he lowered his gaze and silently watched the harbor's bustling activity. Finally, his gaze slid over to the Seaduck, his pride and joy. 'First time I met Beckers, I hated her... Well, not her but the thought of her. Being bossed by a skirt?' He snorted. 'I thought I'd never live that down.' The few times that he'd managed to wangle ownership of his plane back, it had proved fleeting. It always somehow found his way back to Higher for Hire, usually leaving him broke in the process. 'I care about them though... even Pigtails.'

He briefly wondered if Molly had asked her mother when she was going to marry him. She'd asked Baloo that question out of the blue one day and Baloo had nearly had a heart attack. There had been no easy way to tell the little girl that he didn't want to marry her mother. He saw Rebecca as a friend, not a romantic prospect. So instead, he told the little girl that Rebecca would demand a classier guy than him and left it at that.

'Becky was sure mad when that loopy stunt pilot insinuated that me and her were married...' That thought led him to remember the time he and Rebecca had to pretend to be married to fool the Cape Suzette military. 'Thank goodness Molly wasn't there!'

He was pulled from his thoughts by a noise. Turning his head, he saw a truck coming down the street. "Well," Baloo commented to himself, "This looks like our cargo."

Ten minutes later, Rebecca Cunningham was standing beside a stern looking tigress while three large wooden crates bearing the Kahn Industries logo and markings of "EXPERIMENTAL ENGINE" and "THIS END UP!" were heaved into the Seaduck's hold by several burly men who could easily pass for Thembrians. As she was watching the loading operation, she heard a high-pitched whiny voice through the noise say, "Careful!" In her agitated state, it reminded her somewhat of Molly. She whipped around prepared to be angry with her pigtailed daughter only to instead see a familiar fox in a lab coat buttering a piece of toast. "**I nearly dropped my toast!**" the fox exclaimed.

"So, Dr. Zivaldo," Kit casually remarked ringing alarm bells in Rebecca's ears, "This is your new engine, huh?"

"Hmmm?" the scientist asked from around his slice of toast, "This is very good... What was the question?"

Baloo offered from his position by Kit, "Did you invent this new engine?"

"New engine? Oh yes, yes, I did... I think I did."

"You think?" Kit commented and then inquired, "So you started designing this after the _shrinking ray_?"

"Shrinking ray?" The fox laughed. "What a silly idea! That only happens in the comics!"

The three bears stared at each other but then the twelve year old asked, "Doc... remember you used your shrinking ray to shrink Molly... Ms. Cunningham's daughter?"

"I did?" Zivaldo asked in confusion.

"Yeah doc," Baloo supplied. "And then you built that doohickey over there, right? What's she like? Lots of horsepower I bet."

Dr. Zivaldo took on a slightly panicked expression. Then almost as if from nowhere Rebecca saw him produce another slice of toast. "Is this is a multiple choice question? Oh I hate multiple choice questions!"

"Dr. Zivaldo did design the engine prototype," the tigress explained and then coolly added, "Your job is to ship it... not inquire about its specifications. Come along, Doctor." With that, she dragged him off, the entire time he was muttering something about an idea for solid-state circuits.

"Loopy as ever," Becky offered to her crew after joining them.

"You can say that again, Becky," the big gray bear agreed while watching with a paternal eye as the second crate was pushed into the Seaduck's hold, "I wonder if they got Ace to test it out first?"

"Ace who?" Rebecca asked.

"Ace London," Baloo answered distractedly.

"Ace London?! You know him?!" Kit exclaimed eyes going wide. Rebecca could tell that whoever this Ace London was, he likely had something important to do with airplanes.

"Sorry never heard of him," Rebecca quipped.

"Never heard of him?" Kit squeaked. "Ms. Cunningham, he's only the coolest most famous test pilot in the entire world!"

"More like biggest ego in the entire world," Baloo corrected with a snort.

"Nobody's ego is bigger than Karnage," the bearess countered.

"I dunno, Beckers. Ol' Karnie looks almost sane beside London."

"How can you say that?" Kit protested.

"Kid," Baloo said, turning his eyes away from his plane, and regarding the younger bear, "The last time I met London, he mixed up our cargos and instead of just tellin' me what had happened, he started shooting at the Seaduck."

"Well if it was a top secret piece of equipment, he probably was afraid you took it," Kit speculated. "And he does all sorts of dangerous things. Ace London has to be the bravest guy in the whole world!"

Rebecca wasn't going to let that one slip by without comment. "And did this Ace London show up when the Air Pirates were blasting Cape Suzette?"

"Well... no," the younger bear admitted.

"Or how about when me and Molly were being held by Karnage?"

"No..."

"No, he didn't. Baloo did, when he didn't have to." She gave the big bear a quick glance and then supposed, "Baloo's probably had a lot more adventures than this Ace London has. When this pilot starts to do as much as Baloo has, then I might be willing to agree with you." Both males were looking gob smacked. "Now, go review your route."

"It's fine, Ms. Cunningham. I've..." Kit whined while taking on an annoyed expression.

"Was that a request to stay here with Wildcat, young man?" his boss asked sweetly.

Shaking his head, the twelve year old grudgingly retreated into the building looking confused. "A bit harsh don't you think, Rebecca?" Baloo asked her once the cub was out of sight.

"Sometimes that young man doesn't appreciate what he has right in front of him." Turning, she went inside the hold to make sure that the cargo was secure.

- - - - -

Louie looked up from the bar of his establishment when the door opened and let out a whoop at the sight. "Well, if it ain't my old pal Ba-loo. How's it going, Cuz?"

"Hey Louie," Baloo said with a grin and a wave.

"And if it isn't Ms. Rebecca Cunningham as well? And my man Kit? And..." He stopped looked about warily and asked, "Now where is that little firecracker of yours?"

"Molly?" Becky guessed with a chuckle, "At a sleepover."

"Which translates into being babysat for the day, Louie," Baloo offered his longtime friend.

"So what can I get ya?" Louie asked. He glanced between his friends. Baloo seemed relaxed. Rebecca who was wearing Baloo's pilot's cap seemed very pleased with herself but Kit seemed to be a little down.

Rebecca glanced at her watch. "Lunch, if it's not too early, Louie. I'll treat." The ape noticed the preteen perk up at the mention of food.

'He is a growing boy,' Louie thought. He was about to say something when Baloo spoke up, saying something that nearly knocked him off his stool.

"What about our schedule?"

"It's 11:30 now, Baloo. If we say take forty-five minutes for lunch, we can be there and back before Molly comes home. Jill said she'd drop Molly off at seven tonight and even if we're not, Wildcat is there."

"Beckers... normally, I wouldn't turn down food but don't you think that Ka..." he couched, "Our client would want us to make the delivery as soon as possible?"

'Baloo?' Louie thought in surprise, 'Being responsible?!' He knew his big friend could be if push came to shove but this was unheard of! "Where you going?" he asked while rubbing the bar counter with a cloth.

"Pearl Fish Island," Kit answered before turning to Baloo, "Come on, Papa Bear, Ms. Cunningham's right. Even with lunch, we'll have plenty of time." The youngster grinned. "You can't tell me you're not hungry. You got up early."

"What?" That escaped Louie before he could stop it.

"He did," Kit said and then continued, "Well more because he thought he needed a head start chasing Molly than anything else."

"Well, he is getting old."

"Hey!" Baloo protested while Rebecca and Kit laughed. He glared. "Louie, I'm not old..." He narrowed his eyes. "In fact, _you're_ older than me."

"Shoot, Cuz, that don't mean nothin' I do aging better than you do, that's all. Look at my aunt!" This of course provoked more laughter. Baloo might have commented but his stomach rumbled at that point.

"Well," Becky announced while patting her employee's belly, "That settles that. The '_big guy_' has spoken." As Baloo and Becky went off to sit at a table, Louie pulled Kit aside.

"Hey kid, did Becky hit her head or something?"

"Nah, Baloo's letting her fly and she's happy that it's going so well."

'I never thought I'd see the day,' Louie commented to himself while turning to prepare his friends' orders, 'Something bad's gonna happen... I just wish I knew what that was.'

- - - - -

"I wonder how powerful that new engine is?" Kit mused as they slowly climbed away from Louie's Place.

Baloo covered a yawn before answering. "It'd probably be pretty bodacious knowing Dr. Zivaldo..." Baloo guessed from his place behind the bearess then snickered. "If it didn't fly apart first." Then seriously. "We'll never know though. By the looks of it, that thing would never fit on the Seaduck."

"Why?" Rebecca piped in, glancing over her shoulder from the left seat.

"I dunno, Papa Bear. If you had two of 'em, you could mount them on the wings or maybe you could mount the one up top," Kit speculated.

"It's not where to mount it, Li'l Britches, that matters," Baloo pointed out. "Sure, you could stick one on the roof or maybe replace the engines on the wings if you had a couple and the wings could take it. It's what you'd lose that'd make it not work for the Seaduck."

"Come again?" Becky asked, turning her eyes to the big bear, "You'd lose something mounting an engine?"

"Sure, think about it, Beckers... You might get more speed out of her and might even let you carry more weight but it'd probably suck up gas worse than Danger Woman does Frosty Pep." The others laughed at the analogy. "But maybe Becky can convince old Kahny to let us borrow it for the air show coming up in a couple months. That'd be the place to show it off." 'And finally shut up Ace London.'

Becky offered with a grin, "Maybe if **Clementine** agrees to fly in the _All Female Air Race_ with me, I'd be willing to ask Shere Kahn to let us test it out for him." She then pushed the yoke forward to level out the plane.

"Clementine? Never heard of her." Kit wondered, "Who is she, Ms. Cunningham?"

"She's..." Becky began but Baloo cut her off.

"Just a pilot Rebecca met," Baloo supplied. 'The last thing I need is for Kit to find out I dressed up like a girl so I could keep an eye on Becky.' He decided to offer his boss a compromise. "I'm sure she'd be willing to do it... 'Though she is shy and retirin'."

"Shy and retiring?" the bearess asked incredulously. "Baloo, she got her picture on the front page for slugging Cool Hands after we won."

Baloo opened his mouth to respond when something blew out the pilot side window. Rebecca whipped around, rolling the Seaduck hard to the right. It was the only thing that saved her as several more bullets slammed into the underside of the fuselage.

Coming next in **Chapter 3 "The Little Things in Life"**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


	3. Chapter 3 The Little Things in Life

**A Little Becky Will Do**  
By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "_A Little Becky Will Do_" are copyrighted ©2009-2010 by Will Wolfshohl and Douglas Helm.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.

**Chapter 3 "The Little Things in Life"**

**R**ebecca Cunningham was many things: mother, business owner, and a strong-willed self-assured woman. She was not however used to outflying marauding Air Pirates and that made her panic. The bright yellow seaplane she was piloting pitched and twisted through the air like a frightened sparrow trying its best to outrun an attacking hawk. The situation was surreal. She could hear Baloo and Kit shouting but couldn't understand their words. The fear pounding in her ears was palpable. It was as if she were alone in the center of a great storm.

"PULL UP!"

That cut through the mayhem somehow and Rebecca immediately complied not bothering to take into account the fact that the Seaduck by that point had rolled sixty degrees to the left and was in a 500 foot-per-minute dive, i.e. it was no longer in level flight.

Baloo unbuckled and stood up from his seat behind Rebecca and Kit. However before he could move to take over the controls of his plane, a sudden maneuver caught him totally by surprise and flung him across the cabin. "**EYAAA!!!**" the big bear yelped as he slammed into the wall of the fuselage. 'Gotta get to Beckers before...' "WHOA...!" He desperately tried to brace himself as saw his petite boss turn the yoke hard over again.

Meanwhile, observing from his plane with the big number one on its tail, Don Karnage, feared and dashing (at least in his own mind), Captain of the Air Pirates watched as the Seaduck wiggled like a fish on a hook under the onslaught of his men. "No," he cooed, "Not today. You are like an oyster and I shall pry you open and take your pearl. My newest treasure!" Cackling, he snatched up his microphone. "**DRIVE THEM TO THE VULTURE!** DO NOT LET THEM GET AWAY!"

Once his motley crew acknowledged his orders, he rubbed his paws together greedily. "Soon, Baloo, very soon I the magnificent Don Karnage will have my most marvelous treasure and you will be poor once again!" He began to laugh but stopped himself. 'No, I must help my men for they are not the brightest and it would not do to have the spoils of my great victory be damaged.' Firmly grabbing the yoke of his plane and increasing the throttle, he bore down on the still twisting cargo plane, blissfully unaware of the fact that Baloo was not at its controls.

Inside the Seaduck, Rebecca desperately shouted, "Baloo! Will you get up here?!"

"OMPH!" Baloo grunted as he slammed into the back of the navigator's seat. Desperately, he wrapped his arms around the back of the chair and its lone strapped in occupant. "Sorry Britches," he muttered when Kit protested his grip. A moment later, he was flung upwards and to the left only to land yet a moment later at the foot of his original seat.

"Baloo...!!!" Rebecca wailed.

"I can't, lady, with you turning the Seaduck into a maraca!"

Rebecca huffed and then screamed as a plane appeared at one o'clock diving out of nowhere. Turning the yoke counterclockwise and pressing the left rudder pedal, she brought the plane around. Baloo was sent bouncing again. "We have to go faster!" She reached over to the center console to shove the throttle levers forward further but found that they were both already set at maximum power. "Why are we so slow?!"

"The cargo!" Baloo shot back, "It..." He was cut off by a loud noise from back in the hold. "Uh oh..."

"What was that, Baloo?" Kit wondered gloomily.

"I think the lashings broke," Baloo guessed. The big bear's suspicion was quickly confirmed when he turned his head and saw one of the crates smash into the side of the hold. "Becky, ya gotta level her out!"

"No! We need to go faster first!" Rebecca countered and started frantically flipping switches. Moments later, the plane seemed to lose power. "What's wrong?!" she screeched while working the unresponsive throttles to gain more thrust.

'Damn, she didn't...' "Set us down, Becky!" Baloo insisted. He had quickly recognized what must have happened, and their current predicament.

"But..."

"I know you don't want to give the cargo up but if the engines ain't working right, we'll stall out and crash into the ocean! Do you want that?"

"No..."

"Iron Vulture two o'clock!" Kit shouted pointing out the right side window. The bearess turned and saw the great pirate airship's beak opening as it lumbered its way towards them.

"Land there, Rebecca," Baloo told his boss pointing to the spot. "Keep her nose up." When she started to protest, he added, "I know, Beckers, but we'll you trust me? Please?"

"All right," she conceded but she didn't sound happy.

"Quick, Ms. Cunningham! If we don't turn soon, we'll stall..." Reluctantly, Rebecca complied. She thought she could almost hear that egoistical Don Karnage laughing gleefully through the shattered window of the cockpit.

- - - - -

Don Karnage hopped out of his plane and strode towards the awaiting Seaduck in the main hangar of his airship. "Well done, my minions, you have brought me _my_ oyster!" he boasted gleefully. "Come, let us see how big a pearl this one gives us!" As he strutted, the Air Pirate ignored the three bears being held prisoner standing off to the side. He would question them in a moment but for now... "Treasure! Open the plane up and show me the treasure."

He watched as the ramp at the back of the captured Seaduck was lowered to reveal three massive wooden crates. He could feel his joy increasing. Not only did he have a new treasure to croon over but also it had come from Shere Kahn. "Oh yes, yes that mangy tiger will pay dearly to get it back... if I decide not to keep it for myself. But for now, we test it!"

He walked up the ramp and caressed the crates. Each had the Kahn Industries logo stenciled on its side along with "EXPERIMENTAL ENGINE". 'Oh yes... Why should I let my men think that this is not an engine? For the treasure will be mine. Yes/no?' Turning, he ordered, "To work! You and you, get some others and move my treasure to the engine room." The burly pirates nodded and started to make preparations to move the heavy crates. Turning, he strode over to the three bears he knew so well. "So Baloo... and Rebecca... and of course my _former_ young apprentice, it is so marvelous that you have decided to pay me a visit and bring me the treasure I heard about. I can remember it now..."

- - - - -

He'd been standing on the bridge of the Iron Vulture when Gibber approached him. As he'd been reminiscing about all his grand accomplishments, this was not a welcome intrusion to his daydream. "What is it now?" The dog leaned in and (as was his custom) whispered to Don Karnage. "What?" More whispering followed before he turned and asked, "What do you mean Kahn is making a special shipment? What sort of special shipment?"

After several more seconds of whispering, the wolf grinned. "So that cowardly tiger thinks to outfox the magnificent Don Karnage! But it is I who will have the last laugh!" He strutted about the bridge. "Yes, it would be like Kahn to say that it is an engine... to disguise the real contents of the shipment. He is trying to make the fool of me!"

Karnage considered the likely real nature of this shipment. 'Kahn is so rash. It must be gold, or diamonds, or **gold!**' he cackled at the thoughts. "Do you know where Kahn is shipping the cargo?" The answer seemed to confirm his theory but he paced for a few moments more. 'Yes, it must be something special... Why would not he use it?' Nodding to himself, he turned to his helmsman. "Scotty, plot the route between Cape Suzette and Pearl Fish Island!"

The small dog at the helm gave him an exasperated look and grumbled, "The name is Jock, Captain!" Of course, his captain wasn't paying attention.

"It must be... my treasure! Yes, that is what it must be!"

He moved back to Gibber. "Do you know how Shere Kahn is sending my treasure to me?" The answer he got was most displeasing. "Baloo? He is so annoying, even still that bothersome bear will not interfere with my plans!" After a few more minutes of pacing, he summoned his trusty lieutenants: Dumptruck and Maddog.

When the two pirates arrived a few minutes later, he commanded, "You two will go to Cape Suzette and keep watch on Higher for Hire. Shere Kahn is sending me a present and I want to know when it leaves! Do not fail me!" Both of his men didn't sound too pleased with their assignment but they left. He turned to Gibber then. "You will go to Louie's Place. That bulbous bear usually refuels there. Keep watch, and let me know if he shows up."

- - - - -

Pulling his thoughts back to the present, he nodded to Dumptruck and Maddog. "You did well on your mission. You also allowed me to capture Baloo. A famous flyer, not so famous or skilled as me, but even still, this will be quite the feather in my cap I am thinking. Yes/no?"

Before Baloo, who had his hands in the air could respond, the only female present put her two cents in. "Sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Karnage," Rebecca announced with a grin, "It wasn't Baloo who was flying."

"What?" Karnage asked, "Come now, I know my former apprentice is bright but not too much so. You are making with the jokes. Yes/no?" Karnage leaned in to look Rebecca dead in the eye. The bearess tried to lean away as far as possible but not entirely due to fear. After all, _Eau de Air Pirate_ was not the most pleasant fragrance in the world.

"HEY!" Kit Cloudkicker protested, "I'm smart!"

"I think not... After all, you left my magnificent self, yes/no?"

"Do you blame him?" Rebecca piped in while glancing around, "This place is a pigsty."

The wolf captain frowned and made a dismissive gesture. "No matter, we are here to discuss who has brought my treasure... and I am thinking you are lying to try and trick me into believing that Kit was flying the plane when Baloo was!"

"Actually, Kit wasn't flying," Baloo interjected.

"Ah, you admit it!" Karnage crowed. "You are not so clever as to fool my magnificent intellect!"

"Kit wasn't flying the Seaduck, Mr. Karnage," the bearess seconded with a shake of her head, "I was."

"Come again? Did you, lovely lady, say that you were flying that plane?" Karnage asked disbelievingly pointing towards the Seaduck.

"Of course. You wouldn't've caught us otherwise," the bulbous bear interjected.

"Is this true? You allowed a _girl_ to fly your plane?" he asked Baloo derisively barely containing his laughter. "You, the most famous pilot next to myself, allowed a girl, if an attractive one, to fly your plane?" The wolf started to chuckle and then getting right into the big bear's face. "Are you a bear, or a baby?"

"Baloo, don't let it bother you," Rebecca remarked. "He's just jealous. I should know I was in his body." Kit, not understanding the comment, was rather puzzled by Baloo's slack-jawed expression. Karnage only smiled; it wasn't pleasant.

"Ah Rebecca, you are but jealous of that honor for am I not the most stunningly attractive person in this place?"

"I know one thing for sure," the bearess offered with a chuckle.

"And what is that, my fair lady?" their captor wondered.

"It's true what they say about boys and their toys."

"And what do they say?"

Rebecca gave a tight little smile and declared, "The _bigger_ the toy..." Here she waved her hand indicating the Iron Vulture. "The _smaller_ the joy." At the end, she finished with a pointed look downwards. With a snarl, Don Karnage drew his saber and placed its tip against her throat.

"Do not insult me, girly," he breathed, "For you will suffer the consequences. Now tell me about _my_ new engine!"

"We don't know nothing about no engine!" Baloo protested.

"Dumptruck!" Karnage hissed and the large pirate smacked the big bear on the head knocking him out.

"Now, tell me!"

"We wouldn't tell you if..." Kit began but he received the same treatment as Baloo.

"Now, Dumptruck, don't hurt them... too much. Maddog, you and Dumptruck lock those two up in the brig," he ordered while pointing to Baloo and Rebecca. "Take the boy to the bridge. I wish to speak with him." Maddog picked up the unconscious cub and left. Karnage started laughing and then used his sword to indicate the direction he wanted the bearess to go. "March... Behave, _little girl_, and I will be merciful."

"I'm not a little girl!" Rebecca shot back. She didn't like the look Karnage gave him in return but she complied. 'He's really starting to slip...' she thought as she followed Dumptruck who was dragging Baloo by the shoulders.

- - - - -

Kit Cloudkicker opened his eyes slowly and winced as he turned his head. Gingerly, he sat up and looked around immediately recognizing the bridge of the Iron Vulture. It was if he'd never left it. Dingy interior, battle damage still visible, and only the large window that stretched across the compartment just above the beak was anything close to spotless. Possibly the biggest change was the addition of an extra light, whether it actually worked or not was a different story. Kit's musings were cut off abruptly.

"Ah my little friend is awake." Kit tensed at the familiar voice and pushed himself up, swaying slightly as the room spun. "Good, you are recovering well. Yes/no?"

"What do you want, Karnage?"

"I am thinking that I still need an apprentice, one who shows cunning and skill. I can offer you so much..." He held out Kit's old bandana.

"Yeah right," the youth scoffed, "Lots of hard work but nothing to show for it."

"Come, come now, my young Mr. Cloudkicker," Karnage crooned as he came closer and cupped the cub's chin, "Think of the treasures you could have. You were always so brave and bold. And maybe someday, you could be captain."

"I don't want that life anymore!" Kit shouted and knocked Karnage's hand away.

"So you'd rather be doing chores for that fat bear and the shrill little girly?" Karnage demanded, his eyes becoming hard and angry. "You want to be bound to the ground... Going to school when as my right-hand man, you could be out there..." He waved his left hand towards the large window and the blue sky beyond. "Flying your own plane?"

At one time, Kit might have been sorely tempted by such an offer. 'And boy, what I wouldn't give for my own plane but... I'm not old enough.' He'd learned that the hard way when he'd snuck off to the Thembrian flight school, which turned out to only be an ass-covering tactic by Colonel Spigot. (_Perhaps you've heard of him_.) "I'm not interested in being an Air Pirate! You think you're so smart, Karnage, but you don't understand a simple word like NO!"

The wolf captain reached for his saber but at that moment Hacksaw burst onto the bridge. "Oh Captain," the large wolf shouted, "Oh... those crates they weren't full of gold or jewels or anything like that. Just metal... and some pictures..."

"What do you mean?" the Air Pirate Captain asked dangerously.

"Lookie," the half-deranged pirate requested and coming over, he thrust several sheets of hand written notes at his commander. "We were really careful like you said but there wasn't anything."

Kit could see Karnage's fists tighten on the pages for a moment. "I see, so I was right. It was not gold or silver but an engine."

"But why, Captain," Hacksaw whined, making Kit wince, "Didn't you call it a treasure?"

Karnage opened his mouth prepared to rebuke his demented crewman and then decided to change course quickly. One did not shout at a man who strapped dynamite to his biceps and found pleasure in blowing things up. "That is a good question, Hacksaw. I called it a treasure because a new engine will make us more powerful. Perhaps, it will fit in a new plane if we cannot make it work for the Vulture. Isn't that right, Scotty?"

"The name is Jock!" the Scottish terrier countered in his thick accent. Once again, Karnage had already moved ahead in the conversation.

"Hacksaw, you have done good work to bring me this information. I will go see to setting up my new engine personally." He grinned wickedly then. "In the meantime, I have another job for you."

"Yes? To blow something up?" he asked eagerly reaching for some dynamite.

"No, but if you do good work, then I will find you something to blow up."

"Aye Captain, that is so good. What can Hacksaw do for you?"

"Kit here," he gestured at the preteen, "Seems to have forgotten his manners. I think perhaps you should... teach him some."

"Okie-dokie!" his minion agreed. He grabbed the struggling cub and slung him over his shoulder.

"When you're done, take him to the brig."

"Aye aye, Captain!" Hacksaw chirped and saluted.

- - - - -

Rebecca Cunningham sat on the simple bunk bolted to the wall and peered anxiously through the bars at the unmoving form of her large friend. He was in the next cell lying on a similar bunk. It had been almost two hours since their capture and with each passing moment, Rebecca could feel her worry over their fates grow.

A moan from Baloo drew her attention. Jumping up, she pressed herself against the unyielding bars and called out, "Baloo! Baloo, wake up!" Another moan and a twitch. "Ba-loo!"

"Hmm... ow... Wha happened?" The gray bear moaned as he sat up and reached for the top of his head. "Ow... Did you get the license of the bus that hit me?" He looked around. "Where...?"

"The brig abroad the Iron Vulture," Rebecca supplied.

She watched as he eased himself up and got off of the bunk. He gave her a smile but it did not reach his eyes. The big bear rubbed his head and came over to the bars where she was. "They did some redecorating since I was here last time..." He sniffed and gagged. "Smells worse though."

"Would you be serious?!" Becky demanded.

"I am. There used to be a large window..." Baloo vaguely gestured at the wall, "With just bars. Mighty cold but at least you got some clean air." He regarded the bars separating them and remarked, "This used to be one big long cell. I wonder why the change?"

"Baloo!"

"What?"

"Come on. The Air Pirates have us! Remember?!" He nodded but he seemed off somehow. "Baloo, are you okay?" The last question was in a quieter voice.

"I'm a bit woozy still... I only got a hippo tap-dancing on my head now." Rebecca frowned as he fingered the back of his head and winced. "Sorry Becky..." He winced again and dropped his head. "Did they hurt you?"

"No... But I'm worried about Kit. They separated us and that was over two hours ago."

"He'll be all right, Becky," Baloo assured his boss, "The kid's got a good head on his shoulders, and Karny has a soft spot for him."

"You can't honestly think Kit would go back to him, do you?" Not giving him a chance to answer the bearess countered, "I think Kit looks up to you like a dad... even if he doesn't say so." Baloo shrugged. "You are great father material."

When Baloo's answer came, it was very quiet and he didn't look at her. "Had my chance once, Becky. Doubt I'll get another."

"I don't know," the bearess began and then decided now was not the time, "Baloo... We have to get out of here but I can't think of any way! Molly will be worried sick about us and..."

"Rebecca, Wildcat can look after Molly just fine. You just concentrate on getting out of here and we'll be all right."

She shook her head. "I... everything happened so fast. I don't even know if we can get out of here with the Seaduck not working right. It's all my fault. I'm a bad pilot." She lowered her head and stared at the floor for a moment. "I don't understand though... I've been going over everything in my mind but I can't see what happened. Maybe a bullet hit the engines."

Baloo chewed his lip but decided that he needed to be honest. "Becky... We can fix the 'Duck in no time."

"What?" she asked, lifting her head, "Baloo, do you know what happened?"

"I do..." Baloo replied but before he could elaborate, the hatch into the brig opened. Don Karnage strode purposefully into the short hallway outside the cells.

"Where's Kit?!" his female captive shouted while rushing to the front of her cell. Baloo did the same and glared at the Air Pirates who were crowding into the short hallway.

"If you've hurt him, I'll..." Baloo growled.

"Silence!" Karnage ordered and then turned to one of his men. "Dumptruck, get the girly!" He pointed to Rebecca and threatened, "We will question her about the machine, and if she does not cooperate, we will test it on her."

"You leave Beckers alone, Karny!" Baloo shouted.

"Quiet, you bothersome bear!" Karnage snapped. "Hacksaw, put the brat in with that noisy bear."

"**KIT!**" Rebecca and Baloo shouted as they spotted the unconscious cub.

"Why you..." Baloo surged forward as Dumptruck unlocked the cell door but stopped as Maddog raised a pistol in his direction.

"I wouldn't do that... Move back," Maddog commanded, "Or I'll start shooting."

"Yes, do as he says," Karnage added with a nod at his scrawny cohort.

The gray bear backed away from the door of his cell hands raised but continued to promise pain and suffering with his eyes. After the door was opened, the cub's limp form was tossed inside. Rebecca let out a little groan as Kit's head bounced off of the metal decking. The bulbous bear furiously rushed the large pirate but was knocked aside.

"No, Hacksaw," the wolf captain barked as his unstable subordinate advanced on Baloo, "We do not have time." Then offhandedly, "Perhaps later, I will let you blow up the Seaduck after we return to base."

"Oh... Thank you, Captain!" Hacksaw said and happily left the cell. Dumptruck quickly locked the door and then moved to Rebecca's cell.

"I am thinking you will be cooperating, Ms. Cunningham, or else... I will be letting Hacksaw play some more, yes/no?"

"Fine," Rebecca agreed though her tone was frigid, "I'll cooperate."

"Now come, lovely lady!" Karnage commanded. Maddog pointed his pistol at Rebecca to reinforce his captain's order. As soon as she was outside of the cell in Hacksaw's custody, Dumptruck locked the cell door. "We are wasting time! I want to know all I can before I call Shere Kahn and tell him that I have something to sell him."

- - - - -

"Kit...?" The voice was worried sounding. Kit cracked an eye open and regretted it. "How you feeling, Britches?"

"Horrible, Papa Bear," Kit breathed out rubbing his head, "But I'll live... I think. You don't happen to have a couple aspirin?" He sat up with his mentor's help. "The brig?" He looked past Baloo into the other cell. It was empty. "Where's Ms. Cunningham?" His split lip made talking awkward.

"Engine room I guess, kid," Baloo speculated his voice and face betraying his concern. "That dippy wolf thinks she might have some info on that machine... whatever it is." He scowled. "He said he was gonna question her. If he's doing what he did to you..."

"It wasn't him, Baloo," Kit informed him and slid from the bunk with a wince. "Karnage might be slipping a few gears but I don't think he'd hurt her."

"Well, he hurt you."

Kit waved it off while looking around. "It was Hacksaw. The Captain was upset with me so he gave Hacksaw a treat. This isn't the first time I..." Seeing the scowl, the preteen sighed. "Papa Bear, pirates aren't nice. It could've been a lot worse." He frowned. "No guards."

"I think they're on the other side of the hatch, Kit," Baloo guessed. The twelve year old moved to stand as close to the hatch as he could, listened for a moment, and then shook his head. "Can you hear anything?"

"No." Kit closed his eyes and took several breaths before opening them. "Well... I could maybe get out of here," he commented before thinking, 'It'll hurt like anything though. I'm gonna have some serious bruises.'

"How?" Baloo asked while frowning.

Coming back to Baloo, the young bear continued in a lower voice, "Papa Bear, give me a boost up and I'll get us out of here."

"Huh?" his big companion asked but stood.

"Up there... the air vent," Kit answered while indicating the grill high up on the wall. "I'll get in there and work my way to the other side of the bars so I can open the door."

"But, kid, you'd have to sneak the keys..."

"Maybe... but I'm small and won't get seen. Besides, do you wanna stay here while Karnage does something to Ms. Cunningham or do you want to help her?" Baloo looked dejected but hoisted the cub up to the air vent. It took about a couple of minutes to get the grate off and crawl inside the duct itself. It was a tight fit. Soon, the young bear was working his way quietly along the darkened shaft. At a T-junction, Kit considered his options. He eased himself left until he came to another grate and looked downward.

'Uh oh...' Dumptruck was right below him. 'Now what?' If the big pirate was alone, the youngster thought he could drop onto the big Air Pirate and surprise him but that was a very big if. The twelve year old held his breath and listened intently for a minute or two. He didn't hear any other people in the room. In fact, it sounded like Dumptruck was asleep.

Reluctantly, Kit moved on a few yards to the next grate where his luck improved. Below him was a cramped space full of cleaning supplies. 'Bingo!' Lowering himself down to the deck, he carefully cracked the door open and peered out. The hallway outside was deserted. The cub listened for a moment seeing if something deeper in the shadows could be heard. The only thing he heard were the Iron Vulture's engines thrumming beneath his feet.

Slipping out into the corridor, the preteen turned left and headed back towards the brig. Checking the corridor once more, he cracked open the hatch, wincing slightly at the creaking noise it made. The bear cub froze as the large pirate on inside the room gave a grunt but after a few moments, he went back to snoring. 'Aha!' he thought upon spying a set of keys on a peg near the hatch that led to the cells. Unfortunately, they were close by Dumptruck. 'Okay, Kit, time to be light on your feet!' Slowly, far slower than he really wanted to go, the youngster crossed the distance towards the keys. 'Don't wake up, don't wake up...' Kit prayed. By the time he got the keys, the cub was sure a century had passed.

It only took a minute to find the key for the brig's outer door but it was taking longer than he liked to find the key for the cell door. He chewed his lip as he tried different keys in the lock. "Come on... come on... Got it!" He put his paw over his mouth and prayed he had not awakened Dumptruck.

"Way to go, Kit!" Baloo cheered a minute later as he exited the cell.

"Shhhh!!!" Kit hissed, "Dumptruck's outside!"

"Oh really," Baloo asked a dangerous look coming into his eyes, "Well, I think I'll _contribute_ to our little escape." Before Kit could question what the older bear meant, Baloo had slipped quietly past him. There was a long moment of silence and then a crash. The youth started towards the hatch but Baloo appeared pulling an unconscious Dumptruck by the arms. "Kit, go see if anybody heard us."

"Rogers, Papa Bear!" Kit chirped. He made his way around the two larger males and then the brown bear cub checked the outer corridor. "All clear!" he softly called out.

"Good, hand me them keys, Kit, and I'll just lock him up." When Baloo returned from securing the pirate, he suggested, "Now let's go get Becky back and vamoose outta here!"

"Hold it, Baloo."

"What?" the older bear asked while frowning, "Hear something?"

"How are we gonna find Ms. Cunningham?"

"Hmmm... ya got a point, kid." He rubbed his chin. "Karnage is likely in the engine room. That's where he wanted that doohickey setup, right?"

"Right. So, I'll go get Ms. Cunningham and you get the Seaduck ready," the cub announced matter-of-factly.

"I don't like us splitting up."

Kit shook his head. "We're gonna have to make a quick getaway, right?" While I'm getting Rebecca, you can be fixing the plane." Kit appeared to think of something. "You CAN fix it, right Papa Bear?"

"Yeah, Beckers just feathered the props." The larger bear shrugged. "Not too hard to fix. But Kit, I don't like the idea of you just wandering around alone."

"I won't be. I know some sneaky ways to get to the engine room, and it'll be faster for me to search if Don Karnage and the others aren't there," Kit argued. "I'm not trying to be a hero! Please Baloo?" His friend didn't look happy but eventually Baloo conceded. "How long will you need to fix the plane?"

"Five minutes tops. That'll be the easy part. It's getting to the 'Duck that'll be tricky."

"Okay... In fifteen minutes, I'll open the beak and you fly the Seaduck out."

"Wait a second... How are you gonna get out, Kit?"

"My airfoil," Kit declared. "Ms. Cunningham will only need to hang onto me for a few seconds. You can trail behind the Vulture and come in to catch us when we leave." Baloo did not look happy. "Don't worry, Papa Bear, it'll be a piece o' cake!"

'Famous last words,' Baloo thought as he lifted his young navigator back up to the air vent. 'Safe flyin', Li'l Britches.'

- - - - -

Baloo Bear edged around a corner and ducked behind some oil drums. Removing his hat, the gray bear carefully eased his head up enough so he could peer over the drums and survey the hangar beyond. 'Now, how am I gonna get to the 'Duck?' There were a number of pirates milling about.

He tried to conceive a workable plan but his mind kept going back to Kit and Rebecca. He didn't like leaving Kit alone to save Rebecca. He was just a kid. 'Kit'll get her,' he tried to convince himself, 'He's been around this dump a lot longer than I have.' That thought however did not comfort him. 'He'll get Beckers back, 'though I bet she's gonna kick up a fuss about leaving the cargo.'

Shaking his head, Baloo settled behind the drums and forcefully put aside his worry for his two friends. 'We'll get through this; we always do somehow. Now what I need is a diversion.' He frowned and rubbed his chin. A clanging noise from overhead drew his attention upwards. There his eyes alighted up a heavy hook and winch system; an idea began to form.

- - - - -

Kit was in the engine room of the Iron Vulture hiding behind some machinery that loudly hummed and vibrated as if it were sentient. The Engine Room smelled but in this case, the preteen preferred the smell of diesel fuel and machine oil to stench of the Air Pirates it contained. Kit knew firsthand from his own experience as a pirate that their hygiene was atrocious. It made him feel a little green around the gills. He hoped he wouldn't have to stay hidden for too much longer.

He chewed his lip and surveyed the engine room. 'Ms. Cunningham...' He spotted his boss next to Don Karnage. 'I hope Papa Bear got away.' Near them against the far bulkhead, he recognized the now opened crates they were carrying for Shere Kahn. Next to the empty containers was a strange machine that looked like something out of a Frankenstein movie. 'That looks like...' Kit thought as he studied the machine. It wasn't an engine at all. 'Oh no! It looks like Dr. Zivaldo's shrinking machine!'

He considered the strategic situation. 'No way to get Ms. Cunningham just yet; too many pirates around.' He bided his time. He considered the machine. 'If it is that, it might not be too bad. I could put Ms. Cunningham in my pocket and get away.' Then he remembered what had happened the last time. 'Getting her big again might be a problem though.' He felt worry starting to twist his stomach. 'Oh man, what if it's worse than his shrinking ray?' Various scenarios started to present themselves, each worse than the one before. 'What I need is a diversion!' Unfortunately at that moment, fate didn't seem to be willing to cough one up. The preteen was pulled from his thoughts by Karnage speaking.

"Excellent work, my men," the wolf declared smugly, drawing Kit's attention to this former mentor. "Under my _glorious_ leadership, you have built this machine."

"It don't look like an engine, Capt'n," Maddog whined.

"No, but I knew it was _not_ an engine!"

"But you said..." He decided not to pursue that thought. "What is it, Cap'n?" He regarded Rebecca who was bound in ropes.

"She doesn't know, do you?"

"No," Rebecca admitted. "It looks familiar though." She hated cooperating with the pirates but it was less painful that way. "I take it you know, Mr. Karnage?"

"Of course I do!" Karnage snapped. "You see these plans, lovely lady?" He waved the sheets of paper that had been with the machine. "It says that it makes things smaller." Gibber made a comment then and his captain scowled. "I know it doesn't say in words but look, there are pictures!"

Kit squinted trying to see the drawings. 'Well, Dr. Zivaldo has made a shrinking machine before,' he knew. 'I can't really tell too good but the one picture does look smaller.'

"And I suppose you're going to try it on me?" the bearess demanded, "What if it kills me?!"

Karnage looked offended. "I am an Air Pirate. I want treasure not bodies to stumble over... and you are a pretty girly. Perhaps, I will give you to one of my men as a reward." That drew cheering and lustful looks. "Even I am not a killer for I am Don Karnage!" The cheering continued.

"Enough!" the captain commanded. "Since we do not know, we will know by finding out, yes/no? Maddog, show our lovely guest..." He waved his hand at the brunette bearess. "To the platform like it shows in the picture!" He smiled. "We will test it out on her." When the bearess only stared at him in horror, he grinned. "What is it, girly, no comebacks? Good... for you will make a good guinea-piggy!"

'Gotta do something...!' Kit knew and looked desperately around but his mind was failing him. He normally relied on his speed and agility but with all those Air Pirates around... He watched as his boss was dragged bound kicking and struggling to the platform by two thugs. 'Think! Think!' The first idea that popped into his mind was to somehow sabotage Zivaldo's machine -- maybe throw a monkey wrench or something at it. 'No way, something really bad might happen...' His next thought was a diversion but before he could think of a good one, Karnage was in motion.

"Now, Ms. Rebecca Cunningham, let us see what this '_engine_' will be doing for me." Hopping up onto the large control panel, the flamboyant wolf captain ordered, "Plug in the machine!"

As three pirates moved to obey, Kit inched his way stealthily to a better position. 'I'll grab Ms. Cunningham as soon as I can. There's no way they could've followed Dr. Zivaldo's instructions. That guy's more mental than Karnage!'

As Dr. Zivaldo's invention flared to life, the lights dimmed and the decking under his feet trembled with ominous vibrations. "**Let me go, you rotten pirate!**" his boss shouted as she tried to free herself from the ropes in which she had been bound. "Just wait until I get my hands on you!"

"What is that? Is my little guinea pig squeaking? Do not to fear for I the great Don Karnage know what I am doing!" He smirked and added, "Besides, I am too much of a manly man for you." She immediately looked ill.

'Eeww!' Kit worried as he watched the pirate captain flip the "ON" switch. The lights dimmed further, the humming increased, and lights started flashing on the invention of Dr. Zivaldo's. The sound of static electricity crackled as the four spheres atop their rods lit up; lightning started arcing from rod to rod. "Oh yes, yes!" Karnage cackled, "This is just like in the movies..." The Captain's stomach rumbled. "I will have to do this again and remember the popcorn, yes/no?"

'Get ready...' Kit told himself, tensing, 'Any second now.' He tried to ignore his stomach, which was twisting itself into a knot. He also tried to ignore his other injuries.

"You heinous no good rotten..." the brown bearess shouted. She was barely heard over the noise of the machine. However, her tirade was cut short as the energy completed its course and in a sudden flash of brilliance condensed onto Rebecca Cunningham.

Coming next in **Chapter 4 "A Child's Point of View"**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


	4. Chapter 4 A Child's Point of View

**A Little Becky Will Do**  
By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "_A Little Becky Will Do_" are copyrighted ©2009-2010 by Will Wolfshohl and Douglas Helm.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.

**Chapter 4 "A Child's Point of View"**

**K**it Cloudkicker looked away, shutting his eyes against the intense brightness. Then everything went black as every lightbulb in the room shattered.

"Hey!" Maddog whined, "It's dark, Cap'n!"

'No dah!' the preteen winced. For a long moment, only the various indicators and panel lights on the machines could be seen in the murky darkness, like a bizarre painting of the night sky, but then emergency lights snapped on creating dim pools of light. Taking advantage of the commotion, Kit rushed to where he had last saw his boss.

"Hey watch it!" Maddog complained as the cub brushed past him in the dark before braking hard as a pool of light suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Bring that flashlight here!" Karnage ordered and the pool of light moved away.

'Too close...' Kit thought. He could hear Ms. Cunningham screeching and that seemed to ease his stomach. 'She's okay! Boy, she sounds MAD!' Not that the twelve year old blamed her. He jumped into action again at his former Captain's bellow.

"Get me some lights, you traitorous swine!" the wolf demanded.

He could hear Rebecca a bit calmer but she sounded odd almost squeaky. Then something tripped him and he sprawled forward. "Ha!"

'Molly?' Kit wondered at the high-pitched girl's voice. He made his way towards it. The room was starting to fill with dancing light now as more and more pirates brought flashlights to begin repairs. 'Gotta pull chocks and get outta here fast!'

"You're gonna pay for this!" Rebecca raged. He was half-expecting to hear the voice next declare something about Danger Woman and was only marginally reassured when it didn't.

"Don't worry, I got you..." He began softly as he wrapped a paw around a smallish arm. 'She shrunk!' That explained the higher voice. He was a little relieved. The smaller Rebecca apparently didn't like her situation however.

"I'll show you who's a guinea pig, you pirate!"

"Ouch! Ms. Cunningham?!" Kit squawked in surprise as something small and hard weakly smacked him on the shoulder. It still hurt given his earlier painful confrontation with Hacksaw.

"That's my name, you no good..."

"Can you walk?" he hissed and then yelped as a foot connected with a shin. Taking that as proof enough, he pulled her to her feet. 'Wish she were smaller but at least this way, she can't get stepped on.'

"**LET! ME! GO!**" the bearess shouted drawing for a moment the attention of every flashlight in the compartment. Momentarily blinded, Kit did not see his boss; he was far more concerned that they'd been discovered.

"**YOU!**" Karnage roared upon seeing his former apprentice, "DO NOT BE MOVING FROM THAT SPOT!"

Deciding that this was not the best place to discuss what was happening, the preteen grabbed and pulled the tiny fist hitting him assuming it was Rebecca. He then plunged into the gloom while calling out, "Come on, Ms. Cunningham!"

"Kit! Wait!"

'Boy, she does sound like Molly,' the youngster thought as he rushed for his planned escape route in the dark. 'At least, she knows it's me.'

"They're getting away! After them, idiots!" Karnage shouted as flashlights swiveled back and forth searching for them. He ran behind a large turbine and didn't bother to slow as he pulled almost drug his diminutive boss by the hand behind him.

"Kit, slow down..." Rebecca pleaded, "I can't seem to stand very well."

"No time, Ms. Cunningham!" the preteen argued. They ran out a nearby hatchway just as klaxons started sounding. "I think they know Baloo's gone!" He jerked to a stop at an intersection only to be knocked sprawling by Rebecca. Twisting around, he felt his eyes widening at what he saw. "M-Ms. Cunningham?" he breathed out.

- - - - -

Kit's heart pounded loudly as he strained to listen for any sounds outside the door of the small storeroom abroad the Iron Vulture where he and Rebecca Cunningham were hiding. It was the last place he wanted to be. There was a massive search was in progress and he wasn't feeling particularly safe. They'd only escaped from the engine room a few minutes ago. With every passing moment, he expected to see the pirates burst into the room.

His companion wasn't helping his nerves any but the _child_ bearess was currently oblivious to his worries. 'I'm going to kill them,' Rebecca Cunningham huffed to herself as she visually inspected her body -- a body that she hadn't possessed in more than twenty years. 'I'm going to chop them into fish bait...'

To say that the owner of Higher for Hire was having a bad day was like saying the South Pole was just a _little_ chilly. Being shot at by pirates had been bad enough. Having the Seaduck suddenly lose power during said crisis while she was at the controls was even worse. However, this latest affront to her personage made those other events look minuscule by comparison.

'And when they capture us...' Rebecca fumed to himself as she glanced towards the door. Kit was quite pointedly not looking in her direction. 'Then I have to put up with that buffoon Don Karnage... At least last time, I kept my boobs.' Although she had to admit she was taller than the time when she and Baloo were shrunk by another of Dr. Zivaldo's crazy inventions.

It would have been hard to say who was more surprised by Rebecca's transformation: Kit who had just assumed it was a partially failed attempt at shrinking Rebecca, or Rebecca who now found herself in a body, which was more reminiscent of her six year old daughter Molly than an adult businesswoman. The fact that her clothing hadn't changed along with her body had presented her a unique set of problems, which the single mother of one was having a hard time dealing with without blushing. 'My pants are gone! And I just bought them...' She had lost them sometime during her escape from the engine room. 'My blouse is too big... not to mention my jacket and bra...'

"Ms. Cunningham," Kit whispered without turning around, "We can't stay here long. We really need to go."

"I know," Rebecca admitted wincing at the childish sound of her voice. "Close your eyes."

"Huh?"

"Close your eyes, Kit... please," the newly minted child requested. She was mildly amused to hear the twelve year old bear sigh. 'He's just a boy but he sure looks a lot bigger from this angle,' she conceded as she struggled with her oversized clothing. Thinking quickly, she discarded everything but her flight jacket -- while it was overly large, it had a zipper. Once her jacket was done up, she looked down at herself and made a huffing sound. "I look like a circus tent!" The hem of her jacket went past her knees. 'But at least I can move now without tripping.' Glancing around, she spotted some discarded cord on the deck. "Kit, please come and help me." Picking up the cord, she decided, 'This'll make a good belt.'

- - - - -

Baloo Bear sat on the floor in the cockpit of the Seaduck with a pensive look on his face. He felt as if he'd been there for ages. Even before the klaxons sounded, he'd started to worry when Kit was late opening the Iron Vulture's beak, which was the only exit for his plane. He had long since reset the controls and preflighted the aircraft for a quick takeoff.

With klaxons sounding and red lights flashing throughout the hangar, the large gray bear fretted about the fates of his friend and his boss. 'Dang it all!' Baloo whined to himself for the hundredth time, 'I should've went with him!' He hated being powerless. He fumed and edged himself up enough to check on the status of the beak. 'She's closed solid.' Settling back down out of sight, he started rubbing his chin. "Now," he asked himself quietly, "If I was Kit, how would I get Becky out? Sure, Becky's smaller than I am but she ain't no Molly neither!" That meant they would have a tougher time hiding. After a minute or so, he sighed. 'Dang it, when I get my hands on that kid... Why do I let myself get talked into these situations?' After a moment, he gave up trying to think of a rescue plan that didn't involve him barreling through every pirate in sight. 'I just ain't the sneaky sort. I guess it is up to Britches.'

- - - - -

"Come on, Kit!" the small bearess encouraged. She scampered almost skipped down the dingy passageway, her makeshift dress shifting with her movements. Kit Cloudkicker could only shake his head. She stopped momentarily and announced, "This place needs a woman's touch."

'I think that machine did something to Ms. Cunningham's brain.' She was certainly still as temperamental as ever. Nevertheless, he was still struggling with the concept that this little girl was the shrewd owner of Higher for Hire. He regarded her more closely. He could certainly see where Molly inherited her looks. Even though she was a brunette, Rebecca was definitely cute and she seemed to have as much bouncy energy as her golden-haired daughter. 'But she's got the drive of a grownup...' Kit mentally grumbled before as he reached out and tugged the smaller bear back towards him just as she was about to dash across a corridor intersection. "We need to be careful, Ms. Cunningham," he hissed into her ear.

"I know that, Kit," she shot back while tugging to get out of his grip, "But I thought you said we needed to open the beak for Baloo." She made a face and mentally added, 'And my tummy says I'm hungry...' She was not going to tell him that though. She blushed as her stomach grumbled in agreement.

"I did," the preteen agreed, "But running around like Danger Woman..." That earned him a dirty look from the girl. "Um sorry... Running around like chickens isn't gonna help."

"First, we're gonna get out of here and then when I get back to Cape Suzette, I'm mmphnmphfg?!!" Kit's hand suddenly clamped over his diminutive boss' muzzle. It remained so as he pulled her back against him and into the shadows. She tried unsuccessfully to remove his hand.

"Why's the Captain so upset?" came the voice of an Air Pirate (a puma) who was coming closer to the interaction. Hearing him, Rebecca ceased struggling; Kit loosened his grip but still kept his hand over her muzzle. Their eyes began to water at the stench rolling off of the two pirates.

"Those bears got away," answered the voice of another one also a puma.

"Think we should search?" the first asked as they stopped at the intersection. Kit pressed himself firmly against the wall and held his breath. She stilled as well. He was glad it was Rebecca and not Molly with him. 'Molly'd likely rush those two goons and get caught,' he figured as he watched nervously.

"What for?" the second asked, "I'm hungry. Besides, where can they go in the Iron Vulture? Let's go to the galley and grab somethin' to eat."

"I like that plan, Pete," the first agreed and slapped the back of his companion. "Y'know maybe them bears will get hungry too." The men continued down the same corridor they'd been walking totally unaware of the two cub's presence a few yards away. The preteen heaved a sigh of relief.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," little Becky complained. The older bear was unsympathetic.

"See?" he hissed while wagging his finger. Then remembering that he was talking with Rebecca (and not a true little girl) added, "I'm sorry, Ms. Cunningham, but if they'd spotted you, our gooses would've been cooked instead of them going to stuff their faces."

Rebecca, who'd squirmed free of Kit's grip, glared at him, and opened her mouth to protest only to close it again and blush as her tummy growled. With big brown eyes, she confessed, "I think I'm hungry. We haven't eaten since Louie's."

"So we do it my way and we can have something to eat soon, right?" he suggested. 'Come on, Ms. Cunningham!' he pleaded silently.

"Okay, Kit..." Rebecca didn't sound happy. "But when I get my hands on Kahn and Karnage, I'm..."

- - - - -

"What are you meaning you have not found them yet?" Don Karnage asked Gibber who had just given him a status report. He whispered again. "I know what _not found_ means, idiot. Look harder!" That fat bear cannot be far and those two little pipidy-squeaks cannot be far either for they have shorter legs!"

Gibber sighed and nodded. 'No use reminding him that Kit's gotten away from him more than once.' He glanced at Dumptruck who was looking as if he could be back in the brig.

"Now for you," Karnage growled turning back to Dumptruck, "How is it that I am finding you in the brig? And why should I not put you back in there hung up by your toenails?"

He gulped. 'Da Captain ain't gonna like this...' the large pirate knew.

- - - - -

"Okay..." Kit began softly into little Becky's ear, "We need to go up those stairs." He waved his paw at a flight of stairs leading upwards into the gloom. "At the top is the bridge. If we can't get to those controls, we'll have to go down to the hangar deck."

"Why not just head there now, Kit?" the bearess cub wondered. "We could open it, then make a run for the Seaduck, and be away. It's a lot further from here and..."

"No way, Ms. Cunningham," Kit argued while shaking his head. "Those are secondary controls. Plus they're right out in the open and unless Karnage changed them, it takes brute strength to work them." The little girl appeared disconcerted by that information. 'Geez.' Mildly exasperated, he asked, "What do you think the pirates are gonna do when..." He broke off as he heard a hatch above open. Grabbing his boss' hand, the preteen dragged her back behind the stairway and into the darkness. The pair listened as a pair of feet descended the stairs above them.

"Ninety-three pirates on this bloody tub and none o' them will come and take over while I go for a break!" the terrier complained in his thick Scottish accent as he stomped down the last few steps mere inches from where Kit and Becky were hiding.

'It's Jock!' Kit thought, 'If he's left the bridge, maybe we'll get lucky.'

"Yeah, you'd think it wouldn't take more than a handful to search this thing for a lad 'n' lassie." He stopped and muttered something profane as Don Karnage's voice blared over the ship's loudspeaker. "I don't know what's worse," he grumbled as he opened a nearby hatch, "The blasted klaxon, or the Captain's bellow!" Both bears startled as he shut it with a bang.

"He seemed kinda mad," Rebecca observed as she left her hiding place. Her companion didn't respond. Instead, he just waved her forward as he led the way up the stairs. A minute later, the pair had arrived at the dogged hatch outside the bridge. "So?"

"What?" Kit replied softly in case there was anybody else on the bridge.

"Okay, so we pop the beak open and then what?" The preteen didn't like the look his boss got on her cherub face then. "I know... We steal one of the Air Pirate planes, right Kit?"

"No way!" the preteen hissed, "You couldn't reach the controls!"

She wanted to argue but immediately realized he was right. "Well, you could fly..."

Kit violently shook his head. "We'd end up nose down in the drink... if we were lucky." Seeing the thunderous look, he declared, "We are NOT going to the hangar."

Now Rebecca was confused. "So if we're not going to the hangar, how are WE gonna get out? You said Baloo wasn't waiting." He stood mute. "Fine," she pouted looking less than pleased. She put her hands on her hips and waited. "So how do we get out, Mr. Smarty-pants?"

"Same way me and Baloo did once," Kit answered and then thought, 'Garbage chute... I also won't mention my airfoil either.' If he did, he suspected his boss would quarrel with him.

"But won't they catch us, Kit?"

"As soon as the beak opens, Ms. Cunningham, the Air Pirates will wanna try and stop the Seaduck from escaping," he explained. "They won't be worried about us." 'I hope.' "And that'll be our chance."

"I didn't think they were that smart," the little girl commented.

"Don't go by guys like Maddog, Dumptruck, and Hacksaw. Besides..." Kit remarked and paused a moment to regard his six year old looking boss, "I can check the charts real quick and figure out where we are. I don't think Karnage would want the Iron Vulture to stay in one area for too long."

"Oh..." Rebecca agreed. She then made an annoyed noise as the twelve year old put his finger to his muzzle and made a shushing motion at her before carefully cracking the hatch to the bridge open.

"All clear," the preteen declared. "Come on..." And with that, both bears slipped onto the bridge of the Iron Vulture.

- - - - -

Baloo, who'd become increasing agitated as the minutes dragged on, suddenly stiffened as someone close by the broken window of the pilot's cockpit said, "I'll check the plane but I'm tellin' ya there ain't... Fine! Fine!"

The big bear prepared himself for a fight when the door to the cabin started to open. "What?!" the Air Pirate on the other side exclaimed as a siren started to sound. Red lights around the hangar flashed and it only took a moment to realize what was happening. 'Way to go, Kit!' Baloo cheered. Lunging forward, he used the ajar door to bash the Air Pirate backwards before slamming it shut. With practiced ease, Baloo had the engines started and after a few more seconds, he pushed the throttles to full while pirates around the hangar scrambled either for their planes or for their lives depending on one's inclination.

Even before the massive beak of the Iron Culture had completely opened, Baloo had the bright yellow seaplane taxiing towards the opening that meant freedom. 'Okay, Li'l Britches, you've done your part. Now get yourselves outta there!'

- - - - -

Kit Cloudkicker was startled out of his examination of the charts by his diminutive boss letting out a whoop of celebration. She began dancing around the bridge as the Seaduck shot out in front of the Iron Vulture. It briefly became visible through the large window of the bridge before banking sharply to the left and rolling down towards the ocean. "We did it!" the little brunette shouted, "**We did it!**"

"Yeah, now to just..." he began but stopped short as the hatch they entered abruptly swung open. Jock walked in and froze in mid-step as he noticed Kit. A comical expression came over his face as he noticed a cute little girl dancing about the room.

"HERE NOW!" Jock shouted.

"Hi Jock!" Rebecca called then waved as Kit moved to stand beside her.

"What did you say, lass?" the diminutive Air Pirate asked. Jock was about Kit's height but he seemed to tower over Rebecca. Even so, the funny face he made made her eyes crinkle as she giggled.

"Your name is Jock, isn't it?" The terrier looked like Christmas had come. Before he could respond, the other hatch popped open and several more Air Pirates strode onto the bridge.

"What is this, Scotty?!" Don Karnage demanded as he spotted the little girl with Kit, "Are you running an orphanage?" In the awkward silence, he regarded the strange but familiar child. He had caught a glimpse of her as the lights went out in the engine room. Then it suddenly hit him. This child was actually that obnoxious Rebecca Cunningham! He smiled ferally. Now he knew the captured machine changed adults into children. 'I'll triple my ransom demand to Kahn!'

"NAAAH!" Rebecca shouted at the pirate in the meantime while sticking out her tongue.

"Come on!" Kit shouted and grabbing the little girl ran out of the hatch they'd come in.

"Stop them!" Karnage roared.

"Oh goodie!" Hacksaw exclaimed. He plucked a stick of dynamite from the bandolier around his bicep, lit the fuse, and tossed it towards the fleeing children.

"**WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!**" Karnage demanded turning to Hacksaw. Grabbing Maddog, he flung the poor retch of a pirate out the hatch after the dynamite. "**STOP THAT DYNAMITE!**"

- - - - -

The concussion threw Rebecca to her knees even with a bulkhead between her and the explosion. Kit staggered momentarily but was yanked backwards by the little girl's sudden stop. Maddog didn't fare as well. He was flung backwards through the hatchway that his captain had tossed him through looking much like a smoking charcoal briquette. As he landed at Karnage's feet, he let out a piteous moan before passing out.

While Karnage was working himself into a lather, Kit pulled Rebecca up and hustled her down the hallway. They passed pirates who didn't even look at them twice in the confusion; it was as if they had kicked a hornet's nest. "Here," Kit breathed while stopping and yanking open a small door. It was about two feet square, had a handle at the top, and pivoted away from the wall about two feet above the deck at the bottom.

"What's this?" Rebecca asked curiously while standing on her tip-toes. She could barely see over the lip of the covering. "It looks like a slide."

"It's a garbage chute," he announced. The little girl wrinkled her nose as the nauseating smell struck her. "Me and Baloo got out this way once."

"The outside? In there?" She looked worried now. When Kit nodded, she exclaimed, "But we're in the air!"

"My airfoil, Ms. Cunningham. I did it with Molly before, remember?" Not giving the little girl time to argue, he added, "Please trust me?" He could see the fear in her eyes but after a moment, she nodded. Not giving her anytime to reconsider, he hoisted her up and said with a grin, "I'll be right behind you... and remember when you get outside, I'll catch you." 'I hope,' he silently prayed.

"WHAT?!" Rebecca demanded but before she protest more, the boy had summarily sent her on her way down the chute with a shove. "**KIIIIIIIIIIT!!!**"

'Oh...' Kit thought as he rapidly got into the chute himself, 'I'm gonna be grounded for sure!' And then, despite the situation, he broke into laughter.

- - - - -

By the time little Rebecca Cunningham exited the huge airship via the garbage chute, she was promising vengeance upon the preteen bear cub following behind her. Her anger at Kit changed into panic when she realized that she was falling several thousand feet in the air without a parachute.

For a handful of terrifying heartbeats, she plunged downwards praying that she'd die quickly but then she felt something warm and furry circle her waist. She looked around and found Kit grinning down at her.

"**GOTCHA!**" Kit declared as he deployed his trusty airfoil instantly slowing their descent, "**HANG ON, MS. CUNNINGHAM!**"

A few moments later, Kit could hear his passenger screaming. He wasn't sure what the little girl was screaming because the air rushing past his face carried her voice away before he could make out the words and he was too busy concentrating on flying his airfoil. In addition, he really didn't want to know why she was yelling because it was certain that his fate was sealed once she got him home.

Nevertheless, the brown bear cub wasn't worried about what might happen when he got back to Cape Suzette. At that moment, he was far more concerned about getting them safely down to the ground or preferably into the Seaduck in one piece. 'At least, she's being still,' Kit observed as he attempted a shallow bank in hopes of spotting Baloo. 'We're awfully small and if he's not... There!' He could pick out the yellow seaplane easily and it was headed in their direction. "Baloo!" he cheered knowing that his large friend couldn't hear him, but it made him feel better. A few seconds later, the Seaduck waggled its wings. "BALOO SAW US, MS. CUNNINGHAM!" Kit shouted, turning his head slightly.

"AW!!!" was the only part of his young rider's response he caught before his head was pointed back towards the plane.

'Don't tell me she's enjoying this!' Kit thought but quickly rejected it. He concentrated on keeping the airfoil straight. Baloo had a lot more maneuverability than he did.

"HE'S TURNING!" Rebecca shouted right in Kit's ear, making the bear cub wince slightly. He could hear the drone of the plane closing rapidly. "RIGHT SIDE!" his little passenger shouted. "OH I SEE! KIT, GET READY TO DROP!"

"WHAT?!" he squeaked.

"**JUST DO IT!**" the child bearess commanded, "BALOO'S... **NOW KIT!** NOW!!!" Less the certain about this course of action, he nonetheless did as he was instructed. He was almost instantly rewarded when he and Becky dropped into the side door of the cargo hold of the Seaduck.

"OMGPH!" he burst out as the decking of the cargo hold came up suddenly and met him. He involuntarily cussed as some of his bruises were brushed. He then cringed as he waited for the expected reprimand from his boss for his language but instead, he heard a giggle.

"Are you okay, Kit?" she asked him.

"Yeah..." he breathed out.

"Kit?!" Baloo shouted, "Can you close the door? It's getting a might drafty up here."

"Roger, Papa Bear!" Kit shouted back as he and Rebecca got up off of the floor.

"Who's your friend?!" the big bear yelled back at him. The preteen didn't answer. He wasn't really sure HOW to answer his friend.

- - - - -

Baloo wanted to dash back into the cargo hold and check on his passengers but he didn't dare. While he didn't spot any pursuing Air Pirates at the moment, that could change in an instant and he wasn't about to take any chances after their ordeal. The fact that he couldn't see out of his left window due to the cardboard he'd put over it didn't help matters.

"Door secure, Papa Bear!" Kit shouted to him.

"Good!" he called back from the cockpit. "Who you got with ya, Kit?" He had caught a glimpse of an unfamiliar little kid with Kit. He assumed, "You couldn't get to Beckers, huh?" 'Probably some kid Karnage had up for ransom.' He could understand Kit opting to save another kid even if it meant leaving their boss behind. After all, he couldn't carry two passengers on his airfoil; one was daring enough.

"Uh, about Ms. Cunningham..." Kit began.

"Kit?" Kit appeared very unsure of himself, something Baloo wasn't used to. The big bear could tell that someone was behind Kit; he just couldn't really get a good look except the outline of what looked like a flight jacket and a pair of feet. "Sure is a little feller, ain't he?"

"She..."

"She?" the big bear questioned. "Okay, so tell me about Beckers and then you can introduce me to your new _girlfriend_." That got a giggle out of the little girl.

"Baloo... um... Ms. Cunningham, she..."

"Did Karnage do something to her?" Baloo demanded then clinched the yoke tightly. 'I'll rip off his mangy hide if he did.'

The young cub opened his mouth to respond but at that moment, the person hiding behind him decided to make her presence known. "You better believe your propellers Karnage did something to me, buster!" squawked an angry high-pitched voice. The preteen jumped and moved aside as a short brown bearess stomped over to stand beside the pilot's seat and glare up its bulbous occupant.

Several long seconds passed before Baloo gasped out, "B-Beckers?"

The glare faded and the tiny girl giggled at the look on her large friend's face. "Hi Baloo..." She waved like her daughter would. Another giggle escaped her. "Yeah, it's me." She then did a quick pose.

"H-How..."

"Think about what we were carrying," Rebecca began to explain. "It was from Dr. Zivaldo..."

"Oh man! You mean Zivaldo's machine did this to ya?" Baloo groaned. 'I should've known it weren't no engine.' "Are... are ya okay?"

"I was plenty scared... but I'm okay now! Kit took good care of me, Baloo," Rebecca explained. Kit blushed. "You should be proud of him. He got me away from Karnage after the experiment finished..." She looked down at her body. "It's a good thing too 'cause I was gonna go after the pirates."

"You seem to be taking this pretty good, Papa Bear," Kit observed with a worried look at his large friend.

"Too much too fast," Baloo muttered with a shake of his head. "How did you guys get out?" he finally wondered.

"Er... well... ya see..." The preteen was looking very nervous now.

"Oh!" Rebecca squeaked excitedly, "Karnage blew up some of the Iron Vulture!" She giggled as Baloo's jaw went slack and then he shook his head. "Then Kit shoved me out a garbage chute." That earned the preteen a dagger-filled glare.

"Maybe I should land the 'Duck and let you both have a swim." Baloo chuckled holding his nose.

"No!" the brunette bearess snapped and then added, "Baloo, I don't... I can't..."

Chuckling, the big bear asked, "How'd ol' Karny manage to blow up the Vulture?"

"Karnage told Hacksaw to stop us and you know how insane he is, Baloo," Kit offered defensively and then added with a worried tone to his voice, "I'm... really sorry if I scared you, Ms. Cunningham."

"That's okay, Kit!" the little girl replied with a grin. She gave the boy a quick hug and a peck on the cheek. Kit was blushing until she announced, "That was awesome! When can we do that again?!"

"**WHAT?!**" both male bears asked.

Coming next in** Chapter 5 "Heading Home"**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


	5. Chapter 5 Heading Home

**A Little Becky Will Do**  
By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "_A Little Becky Will Do_" are copyrighted ©2009-2010 by Will Wolfshohl and Douglas Helm.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.

**Chapter 5 "Heading Home"**

**K**it Cloudkicker stared out through the cockpit window of the Seaduck at the clear night sky for a long moment to take a position fix. Then he looked down at the dimly lit map on his lap. Rubbing his eyes, he glanced at the chronometer and the compass on the instrument panel, did a quick calculation in his head, and then marked a spot on the map with his pencil. "Steady on course zero-eight-five, Baloo."

"Roger... Y'know Wildcat will look after Molly okay, Kit," came the soft voice of the pilot. 'Pigtail's in for a heck of a surprise though.'

Turning his head, the brown bear cub looked over to his left through the dimness of the Seaduck's cockpit at the large gray bear beside him before glancing down at his apparently sleeping young boss next to him. She was resting her head against his shoulder. It was disconcerting for the preteen. Rebecca had pointed out that the navigator's chair (he used) was big enough for both of them and she needed to keep an eye on things. There was an oddly gentle expression on her face as she slumbered. "I see where Molly gets her energy," Kit remarked softly.

Baloo's shoulders heaved for a moment in a stifled laugh. "Nah, Beckers just had a big day. Molly'd still be up at this point." The young navigator had to agree silently to that observation.

"I'm awake," came the comment from Rebecca although she didn't stir from her position. "I was just seeing why Molly thinks Kit is so cuddly." Baloo chuckled as the twelve year old's face turned a bright red. The bearess moved her head so she could peek up at him. "You ARE kinda comfy, Kit."

"Um... thanks..." he muttered.

Baloo decided to save his navigator from further embarrassment by asking, "How far to Louie's, kid?"

"About fifteen minutes," Kit indicated. "The Iron Vulture was really moving... I guess Karnage didn't want to stick around once you made the grab." He glanced back at his boss. "What're we gonna do, Baloo?"

"First things first, Kit. We get to Louie's and get some gas. Karnage took us way off-course. I'd call Wildcat, but don't wanna wake Molly up."

"Do you really think she'll be asleep?" Kit asked rhetorically.

"She'd _better_ be," the child mother muttered. "How far behind schedule are we?"

"We should've been home over an hour ago, Ms. Cunningham... _if_ things went okay," the cub answered.

"Well things didn't," Baloo pointed out, "But me 'n' Wildcat will have the 'Duck up and running for business tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" both children asked.

"Sure, we got cargos ta run, don't we? I don't know about you but I like my paycheck," the big bear pointed out.

"What about Ms. Cunningham?"

"Li'l Britches, best thing we can do is get home. We ain't in any shape to go after Karny tonight and besides, Zivaldo's back home." Baloo stretched for a moment and then requested, "Take the stick for a minute, Beckers."

"**Are you nuts?!**" the bearess demanded of Baloo, "I can't reach the controls from here."

"Well, Kit ain't got a license," the big bear pointed out.

"If it comes to that... I doubt I could get mine in my condition," the little girl commented while looking down at her body. She only held a student pilot's license and still needed more hours in the left seat before she could solo. That seemed far away. Looking back up Baloo, she continued, "Let Kit fly for a bit if you need a break."

"Well... I do need to take care of some business." The gray bear admitted, "Okay, Britches, take over."

"Roger, Papa Bear, straight and level," the cub replied while grinning. He grabbed the yoke in front of him.

"Kid..." Baloo began as he stood up and stared down at his partner, "If you don't keep her straight and level, you can swim back to Cape Suzette." He said it with a grin and received a grin I reply.

Kit turned his attention forward and concentrated on flying the seaplane straight and level. The cockpit was silent for a moment and then the little girl beside him announced, "I'll move." She carefully climbed to a standing position and then she jumped into the huge vacant left seat. Giggling, Becky sat and wiggled backwards. 'I feel so tiny.' The girl reached out her arms as far as she could and found she could barely touch the yoke. "I was right. I couldn't fly now, even if Baloo sat me in his lap."

"Aren't you a little old for that, Ms. Cunningham?" Kit questioned even if she didn't look the part. Still, he was a little flustered when a mischievous look flashed in his boss' eyes as if she seriously considered it. "What?"

"Nothin'," she answered. "I hope we get to Louie's soon. I need to bathe." He nodded in agreement. "And I'm starving!"

"Do you think that machine made you hungry, Ms. Cunningham?"

Rebecca shrugged and answered, "I doubt it, Kit. It's been a long time since lunch that's all..." She then smirked and thought to herself, 'I might have been a cute little girl, but Mom always thought I had a _hollow leg_.' She grinned remembering her childhood. 'I didn't have to worry about my figure then though.'

"Well, you got the right idea, princess." Both Kit and Rebecca turned to see Baloo returning to the cockpit. He grinned down at her. "The '_Big Guy_'," here he patted his ample stomach, "Says he's hungry too."

"I could use a bite too," Kit agreed after his own stomach rumbled at the thought of food.

As Baloo came to stand between the two seats, he grinned down at the little girl in his seat. "Gonna take over, Becky?"

"And give the Seaduck a bath? No thanks," she stated and then lifted her arms up like she'd seen her daughter do a thousand times.

Kit and Baloo shared a look and then the large gray bear lifted his boss up from the seat and gave her a hug. The preteen was a little concerned when she hugged Baloo back so readily and giggled. He sat down in the pilot's seat and settled the child onto his lap. "You do realize that Molly's gonna be jealous, don't you?"

"Jealous?" both younger bears asked.

"Sure, her mom got to go on a _grand _adventure, and she had to stay at home."

"I could do without the adventure," the little girl countered and snuggled against her large friend. 'This is nice. I used to sit on Daddy's lap all the time when I was little,' she reminisced. Her husband had liked it too but for other reasons. "Baloo, can we get takeout?"

"Too embarrassing?" he assumed gently.

"Let's just say I'd rather wear proper attire if we're dining in."

He winked. "Gotcha Beckers. Takeout it is."

Shere Kahn was concerned. Not that he would ever allow that concern to show on his face. He was concerned because Don Karnage, through his intermediaries, had notified him that he not only had he captured the latest Kahn Industries prototype but he'd _successfully_ used it to regress a human. He wondered how Karnage had found out but that was a matter to address later.

The tiger slowly swiveled his high-backed leather chair and looked out of his office window high above the City of Cape Suzette. Placing the tips of his paws together, he contemplated what he would need to do to resolve this situation to the best of his ability.

There were three main worries: First that Karnage, not satisfied by the amount Kahn would offer him, might decide to do a little shopping. Second and related to that concern was the idea that IF the Air Pirates decided to sell the age regression machine to an unfriendly power, the Government of Cape Suzette would look extremely unfavorably on Kahn Industries. After all, he had shipped it out of the country expressly against its wishes. While Kahn Industries was very powerful, it wasn't strong enough to take on an entire government bureaucracy, at least not and survive with most of its resources intact. Not to mention the damage to his worldwide reputation.

The third issue was more subtle. In that as much as he'd like, Kahn couldn't show that he wanted it back too badly. This would only cause Karnage to get suspicious and while Kahn Industries and the Air Pirates had worked together clandestinely in the past to their mutual benefits, Shere Kahn wasn't stupid enough to completely trust in the wolf captain's stupidity. Don Karnage was arrogant and greedy, but not stupid. He had little choice -- the theft of the invention and his retrieval efforts had to be kept a closely guarded secret!

He spent another half-hour in deep thought. He then turned back to his desk and he lifted his phone up. Dialing a number, he waited until the other end of the line was answered. "Yes, I need some specialty work performed." He listened for a moment and then answered, "One hour. We need this resolved quickly." After replacing the receiver on the hook, the tiger stood and stretched -- tonight would be a long night.

The Seaduck was moored to the far end of Louie's pier. Music throbbed out into the summer night at Louie's Island with enough force to make it almost visible. The party was small relatively speaking (being a weekday) but it was still a typical _Louie_ soiree.

Baloo tugged at the line holding the Seaduck to the dock to make sure it was secure and then looked towards his longtime friend's establishment. His attention was drawn back to his plane when he heard the sound of its cargo ramp lowering. Seconds after descended, he heard a high-pitched voice give a shout of glee. It was quickly followed by a quick appearance by his diminutive boss who promptly dove off the end of the ramp into the warm tropical water.

'I need a drink,' Baloo mused while starting to walk towards Louie's Place. He turned back just in time to see Kit take off his hat, throw it inside, and follow the little bearess into the water as well.

Rebecca popped up, clung to the edge of the ramp, and shouted up at him, "Come on in, Baloo!"

"I thought you were hungry, Becky?"

"I am!" the little girl assured him.

"Well, do you want me to get the food or will you?"

"You can, Baloo!" she responded and pushed away from the ramp. Her flight jacket seemed to balloon out around her.

The big bear on the pier above had an anxious moment as Rebecca's head vanished underwater for a few moments before reappearing. "Now Rebecca..." Baloo began and then stopped himself. "Beckers, this ain't no beach. Stick close to the Seaduck." A giggle was all he got in reply.

Kit, who had just climbed out of the water onto the ramp, declared, "Don't worry, Papa Bear."

"Li'l Britches, it's just startin' to settle in my head." He shook his head. "First that business with the idol and then Dr. Zivaldo's shrinking thingy. I guess that and wanting to get away from them pirates helped cushion things but now that's wearing off..." He shook his head again but it didn't make things any clearer. "Just keep an eye on her, Kit."

"Roger that, Papa Bear!" the cub replied before jumping back into the water.

'One drink first won't hurt, right?' Baloo asked himself as he turned and resumed his course towards Louie's Place to get dinner for himself and his crew.

Kit, having jumped back in, climbed back onto the ramp dripping wet and watched his large friend disappear into the main building. 'Poor Papa Bear,' the preteen thought. He then glanced at the presumptive six year old for a few moments to make sure she was okay. Seeing she was, he went further into the cargo hold to find some sort of makeshift towel. The preteen was still too busy drying off to notice when Rebecca swam up to the ramp and tossed something onto it before swimming away with an impish grin on her face.

When the still-damp cub returned, he stared down at the item lying near the edge of the ramp. Picking it up, his eyes opened wide when he realized that it was Rebecca's wet flight jacket and what its presence there meant. His head turned to spot where his now young boss was. 'Maybe it's a spare,' he hoped. That hope evaporated as soon as his eyes found her.

Kit's philosophy to bathing was simple, i.e. water was good enough. The fact that the seawater surrounding Louie's Island was warm was just an added bonus. The preteen had never ascribed Rebecca to such thinking though. Therefore, his boss' current situation was a little shocking to him.

'Oh boy...' Kit thought as he spread the jacket out on the deck to help it dry more quickly. He then settled himself onto the ramp still damp to wait for Baloo's return letting his feet dangle in the water.

"The water's great, Kit!" the little girl exclaimed while hanging onto the lowered cargo ramp of the Seaduck. Only her head and right arm protruded above water. "Why don't you come back in?"

"Jeez, I'm clean, Ms. Cunningham," the preteen cub insisted. "Besides, I don't think Baloo will be that much longer..." The little girl shrugged and pushed away from the ramp. "**Don't go out too far!**" he warned before immediately wincing. 'She's not Molly! But she sure looks like Molly...' A brunette "_Molly_" he corrected himself. 'I don't think Molly would go swimming like her mom is now though.' When his boss came back, he decided to change the subject and asked, "Ms. Cunningham, what do you think Molly will think when she sees you?"

Rebecca only shook her head. "Let's not worry about that now, Kit." She let go from the ramp and kicked away from the Seaduck before circling around. Once she was back, she declared, "At least, I won't be all stinky. I still want a proper bath... or maybe just a quick wash tonight with some soap and hot water when we get home." She paddled a bit more before tilting her head back. "The sky is so pretty tonight."

"Hmmm..." Kit said, "I'm just glad it's dark enough so you can..." He broke off.

"Skinny-dip?" Rebecca asked with a coy giggle.

"Well, uh... yeah." The last word came out as a squeak. He tugged at his collar. "I don't know what Papa Bear was thinking."

"Just being cautious I guess," the youngster replied. Spotting Baloo on the pier, she gave a shout of joy, "**FOOD!**" And started heaving herself out of the water.

Kit squeaked and retreated. "Ms. Cunningham!" he whined.

"Oh, right..." Becky said and blushed while sliding back into the water. 'I hope my jacket's dry.'

"Come and get it!" Baloo declared.

"Coming!" the little girl called out and then requested, "Um Kit? Please hand me a towel?"

"We don't have one, Ms. Cunningham."

"Well, how'd you get dry?"

"A leftover piece of canvas."

"That'll suffice," the girl decided happily. When the older cub only stared, she asked, "What?"

"You don't mind?"

"Mind what, Britches?" Baloo asked coming into the cargo area. "Hurry up, Beckers. Ya don't want it to get cold." Seeing her still in the water, he said, "I'll go get things ready inside." He then turned around and headed back into the cabin.

"I'll be there as soon as this _young gentleman_ hands me a 'towel'... and turns his back."

A short time later as the three-member crew of Higher for Hire sat down to eat around box serving as a makeshift table, Rebecca lamented, "If I had proper clothing for this body, we could've gone inside to eat."

"And what's wrong with the Seaduck?" the gray bear complained.

"Nothin'," Becky replied around a French fry, "It's just that if we'd gone in, I could've got me a _Krakatau Special_!" She was too busy picturing the sugary treat to notice the looks Baloo and Kit exchanged.

Outbound from Louie's Island, Baloo yawned but it quickly turned into a soft smile. 'Boy, Beckers sure is cute as a kid.' He gently smoothed some of the bearess' shoulder-length brown hair and chuckled softly to himself. 'Never thought I'd be babysittin' her tonight when I got up this morning though.' He would never make such a comment to Rebecca directly. She'd be upset. He'd come to respect her too much. Nevertheless, it was hard not to think along those lines with a girl no bigger than Molly sitting behind him.

The little bearess had consumed the takeout gotten from Louie's Place in quick order. Once Baloo had quickly refueled and finished his dinner, they had taken off again. Becky had taken Baloo's former seat and things had settled into the comforting hum of a well working plane.

"How're your bruises, Kit?"

"Bruised," Kit replied. "Hacksaw _enjoys_ his work."

"I'd like the stuff a stick of dynamite up his..." Rebecca began from right behind Baloo making the poor bear jump. Twisting his head, he saw his boss leaning against the back of his chair. "Chairs are for sittin' not standin', young lady." Baloo was careful to say this in a teasing tone. Kit snickered. Rebecca's reaction was to stick her tongue out.

"Well, I can't see anything from back here." 'I'm too short.' "How am I suppose to keep an eye on things?"

"You could sit with me," the preteen offered.

"No, you're injured." She already embarrassed him enough.

"Hmm... We can switch places," Kit suggested. "Papa Bear could fly from Louie's to Cape Suzette blindfolded."

Rebecca was preparing a rebuttal when Baloo twisted around, caught the little girl under the arms, and swung her onto his lap. "There. How's that?"

"Perfect," Rebecca chirped. She gave him a quick hug and glanced around majestically. Baloo only shook his head instead of commenting. He knew she was scared and needed comfort. The machine had taken away her independence and her womanhood in an instant.

Not that Baloo minded the cute little bearess hugging him; he found it adorable and familiar in a way, if it was a little unnerving. It did surprise him however because Molly was not the clingy sort of child. The little blond first-grader like hugs well enough but she detested being cuddled as if it detracted from her "grownup-ness" as it were (although Kit always seemed exempt _somehow_ from that rule). So either Rebecca's current form enjoyed being cuddled, which was something the large bear would find pretty unbelievable, or the machine had done something to his boss besides simple physical regression. Baloo was hoping that it was the former rather than the latter.

The thought of Dr. Zivaldo's invention made him frown. 'Now how are you gonna fix this?' This thought was rapidly followed by another question. 'Do you really want to fix this?' For the briefest of moments, he considered just running Higher for Hire himself, or even just taking the Seaduck and leaving Cape Suzette forever. 'Can't do that to Becky and Molly...' He knew Child Protective Services would get involved. 'What would they do? Send 'em to a foster home? Or an orphanage?' He glanced over at his navigator. 'Kit wouldn't come with me. He'd stay with them if they'd let him.' Kit was the type to take responsibility.

The old bear sighed. It must have been loud because Kit asked, "What's the matter, Papa Bear?"

"Nothing really, Kit. Just thinkin' 'bout stuff." The gray bear glanced down at the child in his lap. He noticed her eyes were open and she was regarding him with a soft smile on her face. "I bet you got away with everything when you were little, Beckers." 'Just like Pigtails.'

"I did not!" Rebecca squawked.

Baloo responded with a dubious chuckle. To Kit, he admitted, "Just trying to figure out what we're gonna do after we get home."

A movement brought his attention back to the _little girl_ in his lap. Rebecca Cunningham looked up at him with her big brown eyes and declared seriously, "We're going to get Don Karnage for this and turn me back. That's what WE'RE gonna do, buster. First though, I'm going to go and give Shere Kahn a piece of my mind." 'After I borrow some of Molly's clothes.'

"And probably get spanked for your troubles," Baloo commented without thinking. He immediately flushed. Kit started to snicker which made the big bear glare at the preteen. The little brunette cub was doing her own glaring. 'Never thought a kid could look that mad!' he thought and shook his head. "Beckers, I just meant that Kahny ain't gonna put up with you barging into his office and shouting at him. Tweren't his fault no way."

"What?! Are you saying you like the idea that I'm six?"

"Well... I'll admit you're a cutie," Baloo replied, which drew even more snickers from his young sidekick. To his surprise, the child simply turned her head and stuck her tongue at the older bear. "But I'd hate to have to do all that paperwork." He paused for a moment. "Besides, I don't think Pigtails would appreciate the fact that her mom is little."

"Really?" Kit wondered, "Why not, Papa Bear?"

"'Cause I ain't the pushover Beckers is!" he chuckled when a small fist thumped into his chest. "Nah really, Becky needs to get back to normal 'cause she's the real parent around the office." 'And a lot easier on the eyes.'

"And don't you forget it, bub!" the little girl seconded.

Rebecca Cunningham let out a soft sigh as the engines of the Seaduck spun down to a stop. The soft glow of the lights of the Higher for Hire building was a welcome sight to the recently created little girl. The bearess gave Baloo an apologetic look as she hopped from his lap and stood between the two seats in the cockpit.

"Boy, am I glad to be home!" Baloo announced. Standing, he stretched and added, "Almost time to hit the hay."

"Hold it, Baloo!"

"What?" Baloo asked as Kit turned in his chair to look curiously at the bearess.

"We need to go talk with Kahn!"

"Now? Don't ya think it's a little late, Beckers?" the gray bear asked. "He'll be there tomorrow."

"He's a night owl," Rebecca argued. "And with his security, the only way we can find Dr. Zivaldo is through Kahn."

"So what do you wanna do, Ms. Cunningham?" Kit interjected.

"A quick trip home. I'll find something of Molly's to wear and then Baloo and I will go see Shere Kahn." Both males exchanged looks that drew their boss' attention. "I want this resolved." She then narrowed her eyes and glared up at Baloo. "Or are you planning to keep me like this?"

"Now hold your propellers, lady," the big bear began while raising a finger, "Iffen you think I'd do something underhanded just to get the Seaduck back, then you don't know me." He put his fists on his hips and scowled down at the youngster. He mused, "Right now, all I want is a good night's sleep. Maybe tomorrow I'll wake up to find out this was all some sort of wild dream."

"Well, bed will have to wait until we get back from Shere Kahn's, mister."

"I think somebody should've taken their nap," Baloo grumbled. His answer was a scowl.

"Why don't you wait for tomorrow, Ms. Cunningham?" Kit interjected in support of his mentor. "I bet Molly would love to see you."

"That's exactly why I DON'T want to wait. It'll be confusing to her and the longer I stay, the harder it'll be to curb her more _adventurous_ streaks. I know Molly doesn't mind being babysat by you or Baloo but I don't think either of you could handle this long term."

'What if it is though?' the preteen worried but didn't voice it. "Well if you two are gonna see Shere Kahn, then give me a second to go into the office for a quick recon. If Molly's up, I'll tell her that you'll be mad if you catch her up this late."

"Which isn't a lie," the bearess put in.

"And that you'll see her in the morning," Kit guessed. "Or do you wanna take her home?"

"No," Rebecca replied after a few moments, "If she IS asleep, then there isn't any reason to wake her up and it'll be good to have backup." She glanced at Baloo.

Knowing he wouldn't win the argument, he decided, "If that's the plan, Becky, then let's get to it."

Shere Kahn was looking out through his large office window over "his" city. His paws were steepled as he contemplated the situation before him. He would get answers to some of his questions; it was only a matter of time. A smile came across his face as he heard his office door opening. Long experience and the reflection from his large window permitted him to see who was approaching.

"Ah Mr. Baloo... I'm told you have a _companion_ this evening. Where is she?" The tiger swiveled in his chair and suppressed a curious look. His security people had informed him that Baloo and a little girl were coming up to his office but he could only see Baloo.

"I'm right here!" Raising one eyebrow, Shere Kahn stood and leant across his desk until the small form of a young brown-haired bearess came into view. "I'm certainly glad to know my security force isn't lax in their duties... And you are, young lady?" He bowed.

"**Ms. Rebecca Cunningham!** Owner of Higher for Hire!" a very upset little girl ranted. The bearess was dressed in a red velvet dress with a white lace collar, white stockings, and black Mary Jane shoes. It was a little loose but otherwise fit reasonably well. Molly had only worn the outfit once. The tiger glanced towards Baloo who only shrugged. "Your _so-called_ engine did this to me!"

"Ah..." Kahn said simply. The girl before him he noted did share Rebecca Cunningham's traits. He settled himself back into his chair, thus hiding the small child from view. 'So that's whom Karnage regressed.'

"Is that all you gotta say?!" the child demanded as she scrambled onto his desk.

"Becky!" Baloo squawked giving her a stern look. He lifted her off the desk before Kahn could say anything. "Sorry about that, Kahn. It's been a long day."

"Indeed," the tiger agreed. "Now would you care to tell me how you lost _my_ property?"

"Lost your..." Rebecca, apparently realizing that making a scene wouldn't get her anywhere, took a deep breath then explained, "Mr. Kahn, after stopping to refuel at Louie's Island, we were headed to Pearl Fish Island with your cargo as scheduled. We were on course about a half hour later when the Air Pirates jumped us."

"I thought it would be an easy run," Baloo piped in. "So I let Rebecca fly. She took evasive action but by the time I could get to the pilot seat, we'd taken damage and the cargo was loose."

"So I presume you landed on the Iron Vulture then?"

"Not by choice, Mr. Kahn," the little girl replied with a scowl, "Karnage was gloating."

"Did he have any idea what the shipment was?" the tiger asked, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Didn't seem so to me," Baloo answered. "Kit might know more. Karnage... had Hacksaw interrogate him about it."

"Do you know if Dr. Zivaldo's name was mentioned?" Both bears shook their heads. "So how did Mr. Karnage know how to use it on you?"

"Damn it! He put it together!" the brunette cub angrily shouted. "Look, Shere Kahn, I..." She was cut off by Baloo's hand going over her mouth. He winced as she bit his finger.

"Feisty, isn't she?"

"Yeah, and she got _feistier_ when she became younger," Baloo elaborated. Then to his boss, he warned, "Stop biting my finger or I'll put you over my knee!" That got the desired response from the child and a chuckle from the tiger. Rebecca pouted. "I don't suppose Zivaldo has the reverse for what that doohickey did to Beckers?"

"I will make inquiries," Kahn stated simply. Mentally, he was thinking of a more intriguing and profitable inquiry. 'We envisioned this as a weapon... but imagine what Kahn Industries could become with _The Fountain of Youth_! People would pay millions to be young again!' Outwardly though, he was calm and collected as always. "I am concerned about the security of this mission. I feel it would be inadvisable for Higher for Hire to act as if anything out of the ordinary has occurred. It would be most unfortunate if people learned that Higher for Hire and Baloo in particular were bested by mere Air Pirates." He paused to let that sink in. "Perhaps, Ms. Cunningham can go on an extended trip."

"I'm not going anywhere!" Rebecca shouted. She kicked Baloo in the gut causing him to drop her to the floor.

"I think he means pretend you aren't Becky... or at least not Rebecca Cunningham."

"Quite," Kahn replied matter-of-factly. "I will leave it up to you to come up with a suitable cover story. I'm sure your _simple_ minds can manage that much until a resolution is achieved." He couldn't see Rebecca's anger but he could hear her sputtering.

"I gotcha, Kahn. We'll keep quiet... We got cargos to run anyway so that'll keep everybody busy who knows about it."

"**STOP TALKING LIKE YOU'RE THE BOSS, BALOO!**" the child raged stomping her foot, "I'M THE OWNER AND I'M IN CHARGE!!!"

The big bear sighed. "I think that about does it, Kahn." At the tiger's nod, Baloo held out his hand and said, "Come on, Rebecca."

Kahn turned in his chair even before the youngster had responded. The tiger counted their steps until they were about halfway to the door and then called out, "And Baloo?"

"Yeah?"

"Do try to make sure your _young niece_ behaves properly in the future." He mentally grinned at the outraged squeal from the little girl and permitted himself a small chuckle. When the door was closed, he was once again alone in his massive office. 'We must redouble our efforts to retrieve the prototype.'

Coming next in** Chapter 6 "A Visit from the Doctor"**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


	6. Chapter 6 A Visit from the Doctor

**A Little Becky Will Do**  
By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "_A Little Becky Will Do_" are copyrighted ©2009-2010 by Will Wolfshohl and Douglas Helm.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.

**Chapter 6 "A Visit from the Doctor"**

**K**it Cloudkicker and Wildcat, Higher for Hire's ace navigator and chief mechanic, respectively, were in the kitchen at the back of the Higher for Hire building talking about the day's events when they heard Baloo call out from the main office, "We're back!"

"Just a sec!" Kit called out and motioned to Wildcat. The scraggily lion stood up from the kitchen table and followed. Kit's description of the Air Pirate attacks were scary. Moreover, he knew something else must have happened to their boss during their cargo run. Something mysterious that led Wildcat to comment that their mission was "Just like a spooky radio show!" Kit wouldn't go into detail though. All he would say was that he'd have to "see" Ms. Cunningham to believe it.

"Hiya Baloo!" Wildcat greeted upon seeing his longtime friend. "Where's Ms. Cunningham?" He then spotted a little girl whom he'd never seen before standing at Baloo's side with a scowl on her face. She was wearing what looked like Rebecca's flight jacket as a dress. Instantly, Wildcat forgot his query. Instead, he went over to the brunette-haired child, bent down, and asked, "Now why the frown? You're such a cutie. Just think about sunshine and butterflies and all the bad stuff will go away." He heard Kit snickering behind him but ignored it. The lion was used to people laughing at him for the way he acted but he always had a special rapport with small children.

"Uh Wildcat..." Baloo began. The big bear was struggling to maintain his composure. He'd gotten quite a chewing out for threatening to spank Rebecca in front of Shere Kahn. He wasn't about to venture into that territory again. She'd only just forgiven him because he pointed out that she'd been acting "_unprofessionally_" i.e. childishly, and she hadn't listened to reason.

"She's just a little sweetie," Wildcat cooed while gently wrapping his arms about the little bearess and hugging her. He let go the hug then asked, "What's your name, honey?"

"Wildcat! **I'm Rebecca!**"

"Really?" he questioned with a grin. "Oh wow, you have the same name as my boss. She's pretty just like you." The lion then turned to look at Baloo. "Is she lost, Baloo?" 'They're so thoughtful to help her. I bet Ms. Cunningham's already out looking. She even let her use her jacket.' "Oh, hey I know! We can get her some Frosty Pep while you find her mom..." He then turned seriously to the youngster who appeared on the verge of tears. "Don't worry, Rebecca. I bet the Snowduck will help find your mommy for you."

This was just too much for Kit. He dropped to the floor literally rolling in laughter. He clamped his paws over his mouth as best he could to stifle his mirth in an effort not to wake the sleeping bear cub upstairs. Baloo had less success. He turned with tears of laughter in his eyes and ran from the office.

"Get back here, Baloo!" Rebecca shouted.

Setting the girl back on the floor, the lion lifted a finger to his muzzle. "Shhh..." the lion cautioned, "Molly's upstairs sleeping."

"She'd better be," the little brunette growled unexpectedly. "Where did Baloo think he was going anyway?"

Impressed with this lost little girl's compassion toward Baloo and another girl whom she didn't even know, Wildcat decided to redouble his efforts to make this her feel better. "Baloo's off to find your mommy and daddy. It won't be long and they can come take you home," he supplied reassuringly.

Kit thought he was going to die from laughter as Rebecca sputtered incoherently in indignation. "Wildcat," Kit finally managed to breathe out trying to stop from laughing, "That's MS. CUNNINGHAM!"

"Really?" Wildcat questioned innocently. "She looks so small 'n' I know our boss is _much_ taller."

"It is!" Kit assured the mechanic. "The Air Pirates did something to her and now she's... little."

The loopy lion returned his attention to the girl who was scowling at the older bear cub. Something did seem familiar. After a few moments, he declared, "Wow! She sure got little but I guess you're right, Kit. She is still the nicest smelling boss I ever had." This statement was the final straw for Kit. The young cub fled the office after his friend, if only so he could catch his breath.

"I look like a Christmas stocking!" Rebecca complained as she looked down at the set of red bunny-footed pajamas that she was wearing. They were borrowed from her daughter's collection.

Baloo, who was leaning against the doorjamb of the bathroom, chuckled. "Aw come on, Beckers, you make a very cute little girl." 'Molly's got nothing on her.'

His boss scowled at him. 'That's not the effect I was going for.'

"This whole thing's really put your nose outta joint, hasn't it?"

"Well, you certainly seem to be taking this well, Baloo," the youngster groused. "Me..."

He frowned. "Beckers... Seriously, Rebecca, listen. I've always been an easygoing kind of guy. You of all people know that."

"And that's what worrying me, Baloo. You already lost the business once. What if I'm stuck like this and you decide to leave?" Her eyes misted over alarmingly and she gave a warning sniffle. "Where would Molly and I go?"

"Now just ease back your throttles there, missy," he said while kneeling. "Rebecca, I don't think this'll last long. Kahn will get the doc working and you'll be back to normal in no time. Dr. Zivaldo is sure to know how to reverse this. In the meantime, I think we should concentrate on keeping things going until we know for sure what's gonna happen. Getting all worked up is only going to upset you and Molly, and Molly certainly doesn't need to worry 'bout that sorta grownup stuff until and IF it happens."

"I guess you're right," she agreed with a loud sniff.

"Go to bed, Becky. It's late and I know I'll need some shuteye."

"And don't think you can boss me around like I'm a little kid, mister!"

"I won't, as long as you don't act like one," Baloo clarified while standing. His boss watched him walk down the hall and entered his and Kit's bedroom. Grumbling, she yawned and then followed, turning sooner into the bedroom she and Molly usually shared when they stayed overnight at the office. Quietly, she crawled into the bed beside her slumbering little girl and snuggled closer. She froze for a moment as Molly grumbled but then smiled as the six year old rolled over and gently hugged her with one arm.

Molly stirred, yawned, and then snuggled against the soft warmth that was lying beside her. Its familiar presence made her feel safe and secure. 'Mommy isn't up yet,' the golden-furred bear cub thought sleepily. 'I guess I could be a good girl and not wake her up. She was flying a long time.' She had attempted to stay up until her mother's arrival home after Crystal's mom dropped her off, even though Molly knew that her mother might be upset; she'd failed miserably. She and Crystal had worn themselves out playing. Molly lay there for about a minute before her natural energy took over. 'Mommy should be up,' she rationalized. The sun was already up. Pushing herself up into a sitting position, she rubbed her eyes and yawned again stretching her arms above her head. Turning, she pulled the blanket back and prepared to wake her mother to make her breakfast, then froze. That wasn't her mother!

'Where's Mommy?' Molly suddenly worried. She frowned at the little girl next to her. The girl was a stranger yet familiar somehow too. 'Who is she?' The brown-furred bearess beside her rolled to her back and squirmed for a moment to find a more comfortable place in the bed. Then Molly noticed. 'She's wearing my jammies!' It was clear that her mother had allowed this girl there while she was asleep, but why?

Indignation flared through the first-grader and she roughly shook the sleeping little girl beside her. "Hey!" she shouted, "Hey, wake up!"

"Hmmm... Molly?"

"That's MISS Cunningham to you, kid!" Molly countered in her best imitation of her mother, "And get out of my jammies!" 'I don't care if Mommy let you wear them.'

"Don't you raise your voice to me, Molly Elizabeth Cunningham!" Rebecca scolded while sitting upright and putting her tiny hands on her tiny hips. "I didn't raise my daughter to be rude!"

'Mommy told her my...' "**HEY! YOU AIN'T MY MOMMY!**" Molly shouted while moving to kneel on the bed and planted both fists on her hips matching the intruder, "**YOU AIN'T EVEN A GROWNUP, SO DON'T TRY 'N' TELL ME WHAT TO DO!**"

"What's all the ruckus?" Kit Cloudkicker demanded as he came into the bedroom. He was still wearing his nightshirt and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Molly, it's too..."

"KIT!" Molly squealed. Her "boyfriend" would explain what's going on. She hopped up and ran the length of the bed before launching herself at the preteen bear. Having had this happen more than one occasion, Kit easily caught the little girl in his arms.

"Oofph! You're heavy!" Kit groaned and dropped the six year old to her feet. "Now what's all the yelling, shortstuff?"

"**SHE'S WEARING MY JAMMIES!**" the golden-haired cub shouted while pointing accusingly at the stranger in her bed. "THEN SHE TRIED TO BOSS ME AROUND **LIKE MOMMY**!"

Rebecca sighed, calmly picked Lucy up from the bed, and hugged it to her chest while asking the doll, "Is she _always_ this... naughty, Lucy?"

'How'd she know Lucy's name...' "Hey!" the golden-furred child squawked. She rushed over, grabbed Lucy from the intruder's grasp, and held it protectively to herself. "Lucy's mine!" Her little face furrowed up in a scowl and she gave the stranger a fierce look.

"Molly, you're digging yourself a pretty deep hole," Kit warned.

"Huh?" 'Why's Kit helping her?'

"Molly, that's your mom!" the preteen explained while pointing at his boss.

"No way!" 'She's just a kid.'

"Yes I am, _young lady_!" Rebecca assured her. She slipped from the bed and, much to her surprise, found that she had to look UP at her daughter. Putting that little issue aside for the time being, she went into scolding mode. "I have never seen you behave so badly, _Molly Elizabeth Cunningham_! I hope you didn't behave this way over at Crystal's house yesterday!" Kit made no attempt to stop her. As the scolding continued, the little blonde's face changed from fury to concern. By the end of it, the true child of the pair was feeling guilty and ashamed, not to mention quite shocked.

"Mo-Mommy, how'd it happen?" Molly asked the smaller girl finally believing her.

"That can wait, honey," Rebecca replied firmly before turning to Kit. "First, Kit, where's Baloo?"

"He and Wildcat are working on the Seaduck, Ms. Cunningham, or at least I think that's what they're doing. I heard them talking outside so..." the older cub shrugged.

"Good, would you go ask him how things look? Don't bother hurrying back. I wanna have a little talk with _my_ daughter." Molly nervously gulped and heartily wished she could follow Kit outside. Her mother might be smaller than she was right now but she still looked pretty darn scary.

Kit paused at the top of the stairwell and looked back over his shoulder. He heard the beginning of the chewing out that Rebecca was currently giving Molly. It didn't sound like it was going to end anytime soon. That wasn't all that odd; the rambunctious six year old occasionally earned such lectures. The surprise was seeing that Rebecca was obviously smaller than Molly. A part of him had suspected it all along. That made the scolding all the more surreal. Shaking his head, the preteen went down the stairs and out the front door of the Higher for Hire offices. He paused for a moment to breathe in a lungful of the fresh morning sea air before turning to walk over to the Seaduck.

"Hiya, Li'l Britches!" Baloo called while waving at him from his place on the wing beside the portside engine of the Seaduck. Its cowling was off and Wildcat was deep into its inner workings.

"Morning, Papa Bear!" Kit called back as he thumped his way down to the dock. He grinned at his large friend as Baloo carefully eased himself down from the plane and then wiped his paws with an oil-smeared rag. "I thought you'd sleep in seeing it's summer break and all."

"I would've too but Molly woke me up."

Baloo frowned. "Did she wake up Becky?"

"That's what woke me up, Baloo." Kit explained, "Molly wasn't real happy about finding a '_strange little girl_' wearing her PJs in her bed. Rebecca was still chewing her out when I left."

"Good," Baloo said decisively, "I'll have enough to do this morning running cargo without having to referee them two."

"Baloo," the young navigator admonished his friend as both bears turned to head back into the office, "You gotta treat Ms. Cunningham like an adult. She's kinda sensitive right now."

"I will, Kit, and that's why I ain't gonna get in between a mom and her daughter. It's Becky's job to lay down the law to Pigtails and if she can still do that the way she is, then better for me," the gray bear remarked. He turned and led the way around the back of the office and through the kitchen entrance.

"Huh... pretty quiet," Kit observed, "Think it's over?"

"Sure," Baloo replied. "One thing about Becky. Once she says her peace, she doesn't harp about it..." He then mentally added, 'Thank goodness!' Moving to the sink, the pilot started scrubbing his paws with soap. "Kit, go ask the girls what they want for breakfast."

"Roger, Papa Bear," Kit chirped as his stomach grumbled. He was just to the door when he stopped and turned back to the older bear. "Papa Bear?"

"Hmmm?"

"Rebecca is SMALLER than Molly," Kit reported. "I saw them standing next to each other and Ms. Cunningham was definitely smaller."

"Figured that, kid," the gray bear commented to the preteen, "I thought she looked younger than Molly. I'd say five tops."

"Well, I don't think I'd tell her that," Kit recommended.

"Got that right, partner," Baloo agreed with a grin, "No reason to stir up a hornet's nest iffen ya don't need to. Now, go ask about food 'cause the '_Big Guy_' says it's time to eat. Two pieces of toast just ain't enough for a growing bear."

Molly's request for pancakes topped with Frosty Pep for breakfast was firmly denied by Rebecca. The six year old pouted slightly but the pouting didn't last long. The little girl was still trying to wrap her mind around the idea of her mother being littler than she is. She giggled as Baloo asked, "Becky, what is the matter? You're dancing over there like you got ants in your pants or somethin'."

"These books are hard!" his young boss complained and rubbed her backside. She'd been annoyed to discover that (like her daughter) sitting on the kitchen chair without assistance didn't give her enough height to reach her plate. Baloo solved this by grabbing several books and stacking them on the chair until Rebecca was at the right height. "_Just like a big girl,_" had been Wildcat's comment, making Kit nearly choke on his orange juice.

"Now you know what I feel like," the golden bear cub grumbled quietly.

Before her mother could say anything, Baloo cut in, "Come on, Pigtails, eat up. You don't want to waste any good playtime by poking around with food now, do ya?"

"No way!" Molly squeaked. "Me 'n' Kit are gonna have lotsa fun! We need to make up for yesterday."

"Sorry, kiddo," the big bear apologized, "Kit's coming with me today."

"Can I come too, Baloo?" Molly asked hopefully. Kit cringed.

"No," Rebecca cut in. "Baloo and Kit have work to do, honey. This isn't an adventure."

"You got to have an adventure yesterday, Mommy, and you were working," the little girl pointed out to the smaller one sulkily.

"Now don't be like that. It was scary and all I wanted to do was come back and make sure you were okay, baby." Molly had started looking less sulky at her mother's words until the end and then she scowled and crossed her arms.

"So what did you do at Crystal's yesterday, Molly?" Baloo interjected, trying to mediate the situation. He glanced towards Rebecca who only gave him a grateful look. As the older child started chattering away about the previous day, Baloo and Kit breathed collective sighs of relief.

"Okay," Baloo began while leaning over the desk to look at the clipboard of pages that had the details for each cargo shipment, "Looks pretty..."

"Don't say it!"

"What?" Baloo asked his diminutive boss. Rebecca was wearing in the same dress that she'd worn to Kahn's the night before but even that didn't help her look anymore grownup. If anything, it just made Rebecca look like she was playing at being a boss. Unfortunately, she had not brought back any other changes of clothes from the apartment. She had hoped that the effect would just wear off.

"Don't say it'll be pretty easy. You did that yesterday, Baloo, and look what it got us."

"Point taken," Baloo agreed and frowned. "Y'know it's too bad you can't fly, Becky. This run would give you some really good practice doing dry landings."

Rebecca had opened her mouth to say she'd had enough flying for a while when the office door opened and Kit entered wearing a puzzled expression. "Baloo, there's a doctor out here who says he wants to see you and your _niece_?" He gave Baloo a quizzical look and then glanced at Rebecca. 'Does he mean Rebecca?'

"Niece? Show him in, Kit," the gray bear requested then asked, "It ain't Zivaldo, is it?"

"Nah, looks like a normal doctor."

"Dr. Zivaldo?" Molly chimed in from where she was playing with Lucy by the stairway. "Isn't he that scary mad doctor that shrunk me?"

"Yeah, his doohickey did this to your mom."

Molly smiled and said to Lucy, "I _like_ him."

"Molly..." her mother started to growl but by this time, Kit was showing the doctor into the office. He was a leopard, smartly dressed and carrying the recognizable black bag of a physician.

"Mr. Baloo Bear?" the doctor asked.

"The one and only," Baloo said with a grin.

"I'm Dr. Benjamin Pierce, Mr. Bear. And which one of these pretty young ladies..." Here he glanced between Rebecca and Molly. "Is your niece Rebecca?"

"Why?" the young brunette asked worriedly.

"She is, doctor!" Molly piped up helpfully while pointing at her mother.

"And what's your name?"

"Molly Cunningham," the golden-furred bear cub replied with a grin. She walked over and grabbed hold of Kit's arm. "This is my _boyfriend_ Kit Cloudkicker..." Turning, she asked the preteen, "Can we go a date today, Kit?"

"No," Kit replied simply and tugged his arm free.

"Why do you wish to see me, doctor?" Rebecca asked nervously.

"Well, young lady, I'm a pediatrician." He was answering more for Baloo's benefit, not expecting the child to fully understand. "You'll be attending school for the first time in the fall and the Cape Suzette School Board always has its new students given a routine physical exam prior to their first day."

'School? What's Kahn up to?' "I... I'm fine, doctor. I don't need an exam!" the small brown bear cub protested.

"Come along, Rebecca, it's required and you can't go to school without an exam. I'm sure your uncle agrees." He peered at her sternly. "You do want to go to school and make new friends, don't you?"

"Sure, she does, doc," Baloo offered. "She's been looking forward to it. But... how much is this visit going to cost?"

"Oh nothing, sir. The bill's already been paid." Here he reached into a pocket and pulled out a folded slip of paper and passed it to Baloo. "Mr. Kahn is such a generous employer. He knows how difficult it must be raising three children by yourself and agreed to pay for my visit. He even wants a copy of the results."

"Hmmm... That IS mighty kind of him," the gray bear agreed. "Well, Becky, I guess you've got a checkup to get to. Why don't you follow the doc upstairs?"

"That's a good idea," the doctor agreed. "But, Mr. Bear, you'll have to accompany us as her guardian given the age of the child."

"What?" Baloo, Kit, and Rebecca demanded. Molly was looking confused but started grinning at the horrified look on her mother's face. Molly loved her mother but it was nice to see her being ordered about for a change.

"I won't do it!" the small bear cub protested putting her hands on her hips in defiance.

"Rebecca... Remember what Mr. Khan said last night, sweetie?" Baloo asked pleasantly while giving her a meaningful look.

"Fine, UNCLE BALOO!" She quickly added, "But I'm doing this _under protest_."

'Uncle?' "Huh?" Molly noised while glancing around.

"Later," Kit whispered.

"I must say, Mr. Bear, your niece is quite an intelligent child." Kit snickered as Rebecca's sour look vanished to be replaced with a pleasant one.

Kit had just settled himself behind Rebecca's desk to review today's flight plan when Molly started tugging his arm. "Come on, Kit!" the six year old urged while glancing up at the now closed bedroom door, "Let's go listen."

"No," the boy stated firmly.

"Aw... come on, Kit. It'll be fun!" Molly offered with a giggle. If her mother has to endure what she did when she was at the doctor's last, it would be entertaining.

"Would you like me to be in the room when the doctor examined you?" Kit asked the blond bearess.

Molly blushed. "No way!"

"Well then, I don't think your mom would like US listening in either. Now, Molly, _please_ go play with Lucy." The girl pouted as the preteen turned back to the flight plan and pulled out a chart. Grumbling, the little bearess walked over to where her doll was and sat down on the bottom step. She became even more annoyed when she realized Kit periodically was checking on her as if he didn't trust her.

Meanwhile, upstairs in the room Rebecca and Molly normally shared when they stayed at the office, Rebecca was feeling both annoyed and embarrassed. 'I'm never going to live this down!' she whined and then shivered as the doctor listened to her heart with his stethoscope while telling her to take deep breaths. 'I can't believe the guy wants Baloo in the room!' She glanced up at her so-called "uncle" and was thankful that he looked as uncomfortable as she felt.

"Don't worry, Becky, this won't take long," Baloo remarked while smiling down at her from his position leaning against the far wall. "It'll all be over soon, and then you and Molly can play."

"That's right, Rebecca," the doctor agreed while making some notes, "Be a good little girl. Your uncle's right. This won't take much longer." He smiled down at her. "Is Molly your big sister?"

"I'm not sure, doctor..." She decided to make Baloo squirm a bit for treating her like a kid and embarrassing her in front of Shere Kahn. "She's Uncle Baloo's stepdaughter." She mentally smirked as Baloo's eyes widened alarmingly. "So I guess Molly could be my _big sister_," she added coyly before Baloo could put his two cents in. She had effectively made Molly his daughter and she always wanted a big sister when she really was Molly's age. 'Why does he look upset?' Rebecca wondered as the physician retrieved a tongue depressor from his bag. 'Molly's a good girl! She's a great daughter!'

Meanwhile, Baloo was thinking, 'I hope we get this fixed soon; two kids are enough. At least, I really don't have to look after Kit much and once Beckers is back to normal, then Molly can be all hers.' The big bear wouldn't abrogate parental responsibility but you just couldn't replace family, at least as far as he was concerned, and having to raise Molly was too close to replacing something he missed.

"Now, say ahhhh," the doctor instructed deciding not to argue with Rebecca's logic. In his opinion, it was quite healthy that she felt that way. He decided to recommend that Baloo encourage that belief between the girls.

"Ahh..." the brunette child began and then made a face as the tongue depressor was used.

"I need some information. When's your birthday?"

'Why do people always ask questions when they know you can't answer?' Rebecca whined to herself.

"June sixth," Baloo answered in place of his niece.

"That wasn't long ago, was it?" the doctor observed while removing the tongue depressor and smiling down at the little girl. "Did you get that pretty dress for your birthday, Rebecca?"

"It's Molly's..." she supplied, not wanting to out and out lie to the man. "She HATES dresses."

"Well, honey, maybe we can find some more clothes that Molly doesn't like to wear until the rest of your stuff arrives," Baloo chimed in, hoping she would catch the meaning.

She frowned slightly. 'I guess going home is out of the question... Baloo's right. People are bound to get suspicious,' she concluded under the circumstances. Also, she didn't know how long she would be stuck like this. 'I should go back to the apartment before the boys leave on the morning run and get Molly and I changes of clothing...'

"Just one more thing to do," the doctor announced with a smile and pulled out a thermometer. Rebecca's little frown turned into a very unhappy scowl.

'One... two... three...' Kit counted as he tried to ignore Molly's whining, 'Four... five... six...' Having done as much playing as she was prepared to do, the six year old was now campaigning to have Kit take her on a date to get Frosty Pep. "Molly!" Kit finally hissed, "I'm NOT taking you on a date." He tried to remain tactful. "We barely just finished breakfast. Please go play."

"Don't you like me?" she pouted looking at him with her sad blue eyes.

'Geez...' Rubbing his face with his paws, Kit let out a long sigh. Turning to look at the downcast bear cub, he told her, "I do like you, Molly. I like you a lot." 'For a little kid.' The golden-furred child perked up and gave him a large smile. "But I gotta help Baloo. We have cargo to deliver and besides, there's no way your mom would let you get Frosty Pep this early."

Molly opened her mouth to argue but didn't get a chance as the bedroom door opened above them. Her diminutive mother marched out followed their guest and Baloo trailing the way looking mildly bemused.

"How'd it go, Ms. Cunningham?" Kit asked and then mentally cringed.

"Ms. Cunningham?" the doctor wondered raising his eyebrows.

"It's a game we play. She's somebody Becky wants to be like when she grows up," the large grey bear explained. "She's sorta a role model for these two." He pointed at Molly and then her mother. Kit grinned and Molly only giggled.

"And what about you, Mr. Bear?" the doctor pointed out as they came off the staircase and headed for the warehouse door. "Shouldn't you be a role model for your niece and daughter?" Molly perked up hearing daughter.

"What do I know about being a girl, doc?"

Rebecca gave a fake cough that sounded suspiciously like, "Clem" which thoroughly confused Molly but made Kit resolve to get the story out of his large furry friend. 'There has to be one heck of a story behind that!' he thought. 'Baloo practically swallows his teeth when it comes up!'

"Whatcha doin'?" Molly asked curiously as she followed the trio into the warehouse.

"We're just going to use the cargo scale to weigh your little sister Becky," Baloo explained.

"Oh!" 'Baloo must want to keep it a secret that she's Mommy.' She glanced at Kit who'd come into the warehouse as well. The two children watched as Rebecca was weighed, something she didn't look the least interested in having done.

"Weight thirty-five pounds," was the verdict as the doctor made a note on her chart. "And let's just get you measured and we'll be all done. Stand straight please." He pulled out a cloth tape measure and after Rebecca was standing straight and still, he quickly measured the little girl. "Height thirty-eight and a half inches." 'A little small for five...' He took a quick look at a growth chart. 'Yes, tenth percentile.' He wrote that down as well in her chart. He smiled at Baloo, and then announced, "You've got yourself quite a healthy five year old on your hands, Mr. Bear. I see no reason that Rebecca here can't start kindergarten in September."

"Five?" Rebecca squawked, "**I'm not five, I'm SIX!**"

That earned her a comforting but disbelieving pat on her head by the doctor. "Don't you worry, little lady. You're perfectly normal. You'll be six soon enough. Just make sure to eat your veggies and be good and soon, you'll be as big as your sister." Molly smiled while Rebecca silently raged.

"Well, I'm glad to hear she's healthy, doc," Baloo said with a grin trying to head off an argument, "Wasn't it NICE, Rebecca, of the doctor to take time out of his day to come and see you?"

"Oh, yes, _Uncle_ Baloo. Thank you for coming, Dr. Peirce," Becky strained out then curtseyed. 'I'll at least show Molly proper manners.' Deciding to let it be an object lesson.

As she watched the exchange, Molly decided, 'Boy, I'm glad Baloo isn't really my daddy. Mommy didn't make me thank the doctor.'

"You're welcome, Rebecca. You've been such a good little girl. Here you go." He reached into his bag, pulled out a lollipop, and handed it to her. Molly instantly looked jealous but only Kit saw it.

"Becky, why don't you and Molly go play while I finish up here with the doc," Baloo instructed. Reluctantly, she did so. She didn't have much choice in the matter.

Coming next in** Chapter 7 "Hello Little Cousin!"**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


	7. Chapter 7 Hello Little Cousin!

**A Little Becky Will Do**  
By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "_A Little Becky Will Do_" are copyrighted ©2009-2010 by Will Wolfshohl and Douglas Helm.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.

**Chapter 7 "Hello Little Cousin!"**

'**I** can't believe I'm not six!' Rebecca Cunningham dwelled fiercely as she listened to Molly chatter away about Lucy. 'How can I be _younger_ than my own daughter?' Yet the evidence seemed compelling. "I know she's Lucy, sweetie," she said softly, "I gave her to you, remember?"

"You were a grownup then," Molly observed. "She hasn't met you since you got little." She grinned. "So like I said, Lucy, this is Mommy..."

"Becky, Molly, call me _Becky_. We aren't playing house now."

'Becky? Mommy hates that name.' The golden-furred cub frowned. As far as she knew, only Baloo could get away with calling her mother that. Even Crystal's mother called her mother Rebecca! It seemed to prove that not only was her mother little but also she was acting very strange. She glanced towards where Baloo and the doctor were talking in low tones about something. She then smiled as a rogue thought suddenly struck her. "Hey!" she announced to the younger bearess, "I know what we can play!"

"What?" the brown-haired cub wondered. She too had a wary eye on the adults.

"We can play doctor, _Becky_," she supplied. The larger girl paused a moment to see if her mother would scold her for calling her by her first name before continuing, "You can be the doctor and give me a checkup and after, since I'll be a VERY good girl, you can give me a lollipop!"

"Nice try, Molly," her mother countered with grin, "But I'm keeping this one!" She held the treat out triumphantly. Her daughter pouted.

"Why can't I get a doctor visit?" the golden-furred cub whined to herself. She really wanted a lollipop.

Rebecca felt slightly guilty. She was about to offer the hard-earned treat to her daughter and then thought better of it. 'No, Molly was rude to me this morning.' Even still, she couldn't help feel this was a cheap excuse even though part of her wanted to eat the treat herself. Turning her attention to where Baloo and the doctor were talking, the brunette made a face. 'I wish I knew what Shere Kahn told the Doctor. Why would Dr. Pierce think Molly was me at first? She's much too big for kindergarten...' She still couldn't wrap her mind around their size difference. 'Does that mean he thought I looked four?' She grimaced, even saying that to herself made her stomach turn. 'Why the rouse? Unless Kahn actually thinks that Dr. Zivaldo won't be able to change me back. No, he's not that stupid a man. Irritating but not stupid.' She sighed. 'I don't have to worry about going to school.' Snorting, Rebecca muttered, "Who am I kidding?"

"What?" Molly wondered, "Kidding who about what, Mo... Becky." The little girl held her breath waiting for the explosion but it didn't come. 'Gosh, maybe Mommy IS sick.'

"Ms. Cunningham," Kit questioned softly, "What's going on?"

"Kit, I hate to say this but I think until we get this sorted out, you'd better call me..." She considered making it '_Rebecca_' for a moment. Most of her friends called her Becky until high school though. Then her preferences slowly changed. Before that, '_Rebecca_' was something only her parents would call her. "Call me **Becky**," the little brunette advised. It seemed more fitting.

"But I wouldn't feel right."

"I know, Kit, but it was hard enough explaining it to Dr. Pierce." 'Kit deserves an explanation. He saved my life.' "Having an _older_ boy trotting around calling a '_little kid_'..." She made a face referring to herself as such. "Ms. Cunningham would put a lot of people to wondering." 'I definitely understand what Molly sees in Kit.' She blushed.

The preteen looked unhappy but agreed by saying, "Okay, B-Becky, so what's going on?"

She noticed Baloo and the doctor coming over her way. "Kit, me 'n' Molly are just playin' with Lucy," the five year old answered trying to sound child-like then giggled.

"It was nice meeting you, Rebecca, Molly," Dr. Pierce declared. "Good-bye and stay healthy!" With that, the pediatrician left Higher for Hire. As soon as Baloo had shut the door, he let out a huge sigh.

"Papa Bear, what the heck's happening?" the confused sixth-grader hissed.

"Yeah!" Molly agreed, "Mommy's telling me 'n' Kit to call her '_Becky_'!"

"Yeah and she's calling you '_Uncle Baloo_'," Kit added. "So what gives?"

"We're trying to keep out of trouble," the smaller girl supplied. "But before we explain... Baloo, is it really true? Am I really five?" She hoped that the doctor might have retracted his statement.

"'Fraid so, Beckers. He had a chart and everything. Dr. Pierce told me he first thought Molly was you and that she was five."

"NOOOOOO!" Molly growled, screwing up her face and stomping her foot, "**I'M SIX!**" She quickly added, "And a half." 'I ain't no baby.'

"We know, Pigtails," the large pilot reassured Molly. "Anyhow, Becky, he figured you're healthy, if a mite small." Rebecca grumbled something that made the older girl giggle and Kit blink. Baloo wisely chose to ignore the barely audible remark. "He did say you were a precocious child."

"Pre... Pre... What's that mean?" Molly wondered.

"It means she's smart for her age, Molly," Baloo clarified, not mentioning he had had to ask that question himself.

"He thought I was smart for my age?"

"Yeah, he figures you could skip a grade or two." Rebecca couldn't help but puff herself in pride. Rarely did a man deign to tell her that she was intelligent.

"Okay, so now about all this other stuff?" Kit almost pleaded.

"We're trying to keep this under wraps so it won't cause problems for us," Rebecca explained. She didn't want to think of what the press would do if they got a hold of it. She'd likely end up in some government institution for the rest of her life.

"And that's the last thing us or ol' Kahny wants," Baloo put in.

"Huh?" Kit and Molly asked.

"That's right," Rebecca chirped. "Molly honey, we have to pretend, until I'm big again, that Baloo is my uncle, and that he's your daddy. And I'm your... li-little cousin almost sister... Becky."

"My daddy? Really?" Molly sounded excited. "Isn't that neat, Kit?"

"Um I s'ppose," was the preteen's reply. He did look plenty dubious though.

"Are you okay with this Ms... er-Re-Becky?" Kit asked, blushing as he stumbled over his desire to stay polite to the woman who was almost a mother to him yet do as she requested.

"Not much I can do really, Kit. Darn, I thought for sure I was at least SIX!" The child gave a disgusted snort. "I don't like what's happening either but there's not much we can do until Dr. Zivaldo cooks up a solution." 'If there ever is a solution.'

"Once Kahn gets Zivaldo to figure out a fix for his doohickey, we can go back to normal." 'The sooner the better.' He sighed. "Until then, Kahn wants us to keep it under our hats."

"Oh, I get it. It's a cover story like in those spy shows," Kit deduced. "We're playing make believe to cover up what's really happening, right Papa Bear?"

"Right," the big bear agreed.

"Mr. Khan wants it this way and I agree," Rebecca seconded. She walked over to her daughter and looked up into her blue eyes. "So Molly, would you do this? Please? It's really important."

"Sure, I can!" the older girl chirped with a grin. She gently patted her mother on the head and asked, "Does this mean I get to boss you around, BECKY?"

"Just a little." Baloo warned, "Just remember, Pigtails, your mom is going to get big again soon. I wouldn't push her too hard or you may never eat Frosty Pep again."

Molly turned to Rebecca who nodded. She was horrified that she might earn herself a lifetime ban from her favorite treat. The world might as well end if that calamity ever came to pass. Meanwhile, Rebecca had backtracked to a previous comment. "So the doctor said I might be able to skip a grade?"

'She's back on that.' "Sure, if you test out well in school in the next couple years."

"Why even worry about it, M-Becky?" the preteen asked his boss, "I mean we're gonna get you back to normal way before school starts." Unfortunately, Rebecca Cunningham didn't share the twelve year old's optimism.

Baloo looked down at the little girl holding his hand and smiled faintly. 'These two are so different. It's hard to tell they're mother and daughter.' Shortly after leaving Higher for Hire to head to the Cunningham apartment, Rebecca had taken Baloo's hand (ostensibly for looks) and walked contentedly beside him. Molly however, kept rushing ahead and frowning when Baloo called her back.

After the fifth time this happened, Rebecca scolded, "**MOLLY ELIZABETH CUNNINGHAM! YOU STAY WITH BALOO!**" Passers-by smiled; some even chuckled at the little girl scolding her big sister.

"Fine, MOMMY!" Molly retorted grumpily while crossing her arms, "But if you don't hurry, we'll be for-ever!"

"The kid does have a point, Becky," Baloo told the youngster.

"Well I can't help it if my legs are short!" Rebecca said defensively, "Blame that on Karnage!"

"Now don't you be gettin' sassy, little lady," he scolded. Molly giggled.

"Sorry," the five year old apologized and then for anyone listening added, "'_Uncle Baloo_'. I didn't think my apartment was this far though..."

"Like ya said, Becky, you got littler legs. But we can fix that in a jiffy," he declared. Before the little girl could inquire as to this magical solution, he lifted her from the ground and seated her on his shoulders.

"I'm too old for this, Uncle Baloo!" the five year old protested. She glanced downward then at the ground, which looked twenty feet away. She gave a squeal of terror before wrapping her arms about Baloo's head, thus covering his eyes. "I'm gonna fall!" she whined.

"Nah," Baloo assured her while gently removing the youngster's hands from his eyes. "Don't ya worry. Ol' Baloo would never let _his_ little niece fall."

Molly had come back to the duo by then and commented, "That looks like fun. Me next, DADDY!"

"Well," the large bear declared, "Maybe if you're a good girl and hold Ba... Daddy's hand, I'll give you a ride back to the office."

The blond cub considered that for a moment and then gave in. She couldn't let her mother one-up her. 'Piggyback rides are for babies,' Molly scoffed as she was led by the hand down the street. She looked up at her kindergarten-sized mother atop Baloo and mentally shook her head. 'Mommy's acting so weird. One minute, she's scolding me and the next minute, she's being a baby.' It did look like her mother was having fun though. The little brunette was apparently pretending Baloo's ears were the yoke assembly of an airplane and she was "_flying_" down the street.

'Maybe if I'm good, Mommy will play with me later. She can be Danger Woman's faithful sidekick!' It would be fun having a sidekick who could actually do stuff, unlike her doll Lucy. 'Crystal won't play Danger Woman with me anymore.' That was mainly because Molly never allowed her friend to be Danger Woman. In the six year old's opinion, nobody was more fit in the role than she was.

"Rebecca," Baloo snapped a half-hour later, "Hurry up. We don't have time for a fashion show." His little boss had just come out of Molly's bedroom wearing yet another outfit. Being a typical male, he couldn't see what had been wrong with the last half-dozen outfits.

"Baloo, I'm trying to find something decent," Rebecca explained. 'Something to make me look older.'

"They all look fine," Baloo remarked.

Molly, who'd been sitting on the couch patiently until this point, decided to put her two cents in, "Mo-uh Becky... Hurry! I wanna go play." She had already picked out several pairs of overalls for herself.

"In a second, honey," Rebecca replied and tapped her chin, "Maybe some of Molly's older stuff will fit me." 'I got her some great stuff that she barely wore.' "I put them in boxes though but I can't remember where they are. Maybe up in the..."

"We don't have time to go looking either," Baloo firmly pointed out.

"Well, none of my normal clothes fit."

Baloo sighed. 'Why can't women be simple and wear shirts and pants like the rest of us?' He shook his head. "Beckers, I still don't get why you even tried your clothes. You knew darn well they wouldn't fit." 'Even most of Molly's stuff is loose on you.'

"I thought I could use a blouse like a dress, Baloo," she offered.

"And it looked ridiculous."

"Yeah, Becky, just like a circus tent!" the golden bearess piped up. That was what her mother told her the last time that she'd played dress-up in her clothes. And she's littler.

"Well what you have on now will do," Baloo seconded. "Time's a ticking and that cargo ain't moving on its own. You're the one always worried about OUR reputation."

"And when did you come so responsible, Baloo?"

"As the responsible adult," Baloo began.

"HAH!" was the bearess' retort. The big bear glared down at the petite five year old. "Oh, what a scary look!"

"Re-bec-ca..." The tone caused her to giggle. "You think it's funny?"

"Sure, how many times have I had to nag you about getting work done? Now you want to actually do work. What happened?"

"People can decide to change," Baloo said sternly with a scowl while crossing his arms.

"Oh... that reminds me, Uncle Baloo." Rebecca turned and started skipping toward Molly's room. "I saw that pretty blue on white Easter dress..." When she realized Baloo was following her, she stopped and turned to frown at him. "What are you doing, mister?"

"Proving I can be responsible, _my little niece_," he responded. Lifting up the girl, he started carrying her towards Molly's bedroom.

"What do you mean?" the brunette asked nervously.

"I mean that you obviously aren't going to make a choice so as the RESPONSIBLE adult here, I'm gonna make it for you so we can go."

Kit Cloudkicker wiped his brow as he and Wildcat maneuvered the last of the crates into the hold. 'It's packed to the gills!' the cub thought as he looked around, 'And to think we gotta come back and pick up more this afternoon.' He frowned and glanced at his watch and then the sky. 'Where's Baloo? He said he wouldn't be long.'

"Everything's tighter than a rusty bolt, Kit," Wildcat reported as he squeezed between two crates.

"How are the engines?"

"Purring like kittens," the lion replied. "And the tanks are full."

"That's good," Kit said. "I wish Baloo would hurry and get back."

"He'll be okay," the mechanic assured him, "He's fought Air Pirates ya know."

"Yeah but I don't know how he'll handle two little girls."

Wildcat had an answer for that one. "Read them a story and put them down for a nap."

Thankfully, from Kit's perspective, he heard a familiar voice approaching the Higher for Hire office. Running out of the plane and up the dock, he spotted Baloo, Molly, and Rebecca coming down the street. 'Oh no...' Kit moaned upon seeing Molly's Danger Woman outfit - colander, red cape, and spatula. She was riding atop Baloo's shoulders proclaiming at the top of her lungs "Evil doers beware!"

'Poor Baloo!' The preteen nearly snickered when he caught sight of Rebecca. It wasn't the fact that the recently regressed owner of Higher for Hire was sitting atop some clothes in a little red wagon Molly owned. It was being pulled by Baloo. It wasn't even the fact that her shoulder-length hair was now in pigtails much like her daughter's. It was the puffy pink dress with white lace that she was wearing that made him snicker. 'Boy! How'd Baloo get her into THAT!' However the big bear had managed it, little Rebecca was looking less than pleased at her predicament. 'She does look kinda cute.' He wondered sometimes if Rebecca was a little too tomboyish.

"Go bludgeon someone else's eardrums for a bit, Pigtails," Baloo ordered as he set the child on her feet and gave her a gentle push towards the office door.

"I'm Danger Woman, Daddy!" Molly protested.

"So I've noticed, pumpkin," Baloo answered dryly and then turned to Kit, "Cargo loaded, Li'l Britches?"

"Sure is!" Kit answered. "You set, Baloo?"

"Yeah, just gotta make sure Wildcat will stay inside to handle any customers that show up."

"I can do that!" Rebecca volunteered from her place in the wagon.

"I said show up, Beckers," he corrected to the youngster. "You can handle the phones okay, but nobody will wanna talk to a little kid about business." Rebecca had to admit that Baloo was right. After a moment, she got out of the wagon and followed her daughter (now cousin) into the office.

Kit took the opportunity to whisper, "So whose idea was the pigtails?"

Baloo grinned. "She was taking forever dressin' so I chose an outfit for her. She got sassy so..."

"Pigtails," Kit surmised, "You realize she's gonna make you pay when things get back to normal."

"I dunno, kid, I think she likes them actually. They're like Molly's," Baloo countered. "Come on. Let's finish up so we can pull chocks."

Rebecca Cunningham was trying to focus on paperwork as she sat at her desk but things kept distracting her. She glanced up after she heard Molly's giggling floating in through the open office window. Wildcat's laughter followed. 'This is SO boring!' the five year old businesswoman whined, 'But there's no way Baloo could do this right.' Even as she thought that, her eyes wandered wistfully towards the open window and the sunshine outside. 'It's not fair!' If she were _really_ a little girl, she would be out there playing too without a care in the world. Another giggle from her daughter drew the former adult off of her desk chair toward the window.

As she approached it, she couldn't see anything. At her new stature, the petite girl's eyes did not clear the windowsill. 'Darn, I'm too short now...' she thought as she turned away from the window, 'I can fix that!' Marching into the small kitchen, she went over to the table. 'I'll just take this chair out and then I can see what those two are up to!' It would have been far easier to simply go outside but her pride would not allow her do that. She had told Molly to go outside and play so she could "work in peace". Therefore, the boss of Higher for Hire did not want to explain to her inquisitive six year old why she wasn't working.

'Molly thinks being a grownup is great,' the pigtailed brunette groused and grunted as she drug the chair back into the main office. It was much heavier than she remembered. 'She doesn't realize that grownups have to do stupid, BORING, paperwork just so that you can buy stuff. Kids get to run and play all day.' Rebecca paused. 'Maybe I should give her an allowance... and make her save up for Frosty Pep...' The thought of ice cream made her think of a sundae and that, of course, led to an intense craving to have one. 'NO!' she told herself sharply, 'It's too early in the morning. Rebecca Cunningham, you're just going to check on Molly and then get right back to work.'

Maneuvering the chair under the window, Rebecca knelt atop it, thus enabling her to look out the window. Out in the harbor, she spotted two tugboats attempting to maneuver a large ship and became fascinated by their actions. Her mind started to wander and soon she forgot completely about checking on Molly.

Meanwhile, the call of nature interrupted Molly Cunningham's play outside. She was heading back inside when she spotted her mother at the window. The golden-furred cub frowned. 'Mommy said she had to work, but she's just staring...' She stopped and turned following her mother's gaze to see what she was looking at. There were only a few boats and seagulls, i.e. nothing interesting to look at. 'Grownups are weird,' the six year old decided. Turning back, she was surprised to see her mother was gone from the window. 'Mommy's not grownup though.'

The little girl frowned. 'How'd Mommy see out the window?' Molly knew she could barely see over it herself. The girl got her answer after she entered the office proper and turned towards the stairs. There she spotted a chair next to the window partially blocking the stairway. 'Oooo!' the bear cub thought as she pulled the chair to the side to get by. 'If I did that, Mommy would be SO mad! And she always scolds ME for not sitting on a chair properly.'

Still fuming at the unfairness of it, she hurried upstairs and was dismayed to find her mother already in the bathroom. "Mommy," Molly whined while crossing her ankles, "Are you almost done?" There wasn't any response. "Mommy!"

"Um...?"

"Becky!" Molly asked while flexing her knees.

"Uh, oh Molly honey, what is it?"

"Are you done? I gotta go!"

"Oh sure, Molly," her little mother replied and quickly finished up. "I don't know what happened," she explained as she washed her hands, a rather stressful and tedious process to Molly who was still bouncing in the doorway. "One second I was fine and the next!"

"I know...!" the restless six year old squirmed, "Can you hurry? Please?"

"Right... Sorry," Rebecca said with an apologetic look and left the bathroom.

"Close the door!" Molly shouted. Giggling, her "cousin" complied.

'What's the big deal? We're both girls.' Before her adult part could mount a protest, she was distracted by the ringing of the telephone. "Okay okay, I'm coming!" she shouted as she ran down the hall. She started down the stairs but made herself slow down and hold the banister. Those steps were a lot higher. "Stupid thing I said I was coming!"

Going over to her desk, the five year old brunette lifted up the receiver and grabbed a pencil at the same time, before answering, "Good morning. Thank you for calling Higher for Hire. This is Rebecca Cunningham. How may I help you?"

"Well, aren't you a polite little girl," came the voice from the other end of the phone, "Is your mommy or daddy around?"

She frowned at the phone. "I'm the owner of Higher for Hire. How may I assist you today, sir?"

There was a long pause at the other end of the phone before the caller chuckled. "Come on, sweetie. Please let me talk to your mommy or daddy. I need some cargo shipped Friday and I want this done right. I have no time for children's games."

"I'm the boss here," Rebecca hissed grumpily.

"I'm sure you are, little girl," was the reply with a chuckle. "Well, I'll call back later I suppose... if I don't find another cargo company first."

"Sorry sir... Just... Please hold a second and I'll get _Uncle_ Wildcat," she pleaded. 'I can't lose business!' Putting the receiver down, the five year old sprinted for the door. 'Now where would Wildcat be?'

"How do you think Ms. Cu-I mean Becky is doing?" Kit asked as they were eating lunch. Both bears had decided to eat lunch on the go rather than find someplace to stop over. They were flying at 10000 feet about an hour out of Cape Suzette.

"I just hope Molly doesn't rope her into some harebrained idea," Baloo replied before stuffing another half sandwich into his mouth. After chewing for a few moments, he washed it down with some soda pop. "You know," the big bear commented while unwrapping another sandwich, "Beckers did a decent job on makin' us lunch." 'It's not up to her normal standards though.'

"Mine isn't bad," Kit agreed, "I just can't tell what it is." He gave it another sniff and then took another bite. 'Tastes like tuna fish and hot peppers...'

Baloo just grinned, "I know what ya mean. Anyway, I think Rebecca'll do okay except if any customers show up. I just hope she can act really good then."

Kit glanced at his chart and then the compass. "Five degrees port, Papa Bear. We're drifting."

"That's what I get for driving with my knees," the gray bear grumbled. He wrapped the remains of his sandwich up in wax paper and stowed it before taking the yoke with both paws.

His navigator nodded. "So, uh Papa Bear?"

"Yeah, Li'l Britches?"

"I was wondering... What's this Clem thing? You don't have to tell me if you don't wanna."

Baloo sighed but then chuckled and shook his head slowly. Glancing at his watch, he settled himself more comfortably and explained, "Okay, Kit... See... that was one time when MY pride got the better of me." He smiled faintly. "Becky entered herself and the Seaduck into a race. I don't rightly remember what the fight was about we had but she went off and entered it. 'Course, I wasn't gonna let anything happen to my baby here..." He gently patted the yoke. "But Beckers didn't want me involved so I dressed up as... a girl."

"What?" the preteen demanded.

"Just to keep an eye on her." His companion started to laugh at the image his big friend cross-dressing. "Yeah, it was pretty ridiculous, called myself Clementine. It was a good thing that I did join up. One of the other pilots, a guy by the name of Cold Hands Luke, was trying to hit on Rebecca and when that didn't work, he tried to sabotage the planes so he'd win."

"You guys won, right?"

"I hope to kiss a duck we did," Baloo declared, "Or I should say _Miss Clementine_ and Rebecca won it. So every now and then, Becky will bring it up."

"Thanks for trusting me, Papa Bear." Kit finished his lunch with a smile and the occasional chuckle. He looked down at the ground and spotted several lakes. "I bet there would be some nice fishing around here."

"You're probably right, kid," the big pilot agreed.

The duo was silent for a few minutes before Kit asked, "Think we'll ever get back to normal, Baloo?"

"Hope so, Li'l Britches," Baloo replied, "But if I learned one thing being around Becky, it's not too early to plan for the worst."

"What do you mean?" The preteen cub asked his friend.

Baloo took a deep breath, held it, and then allowed it to ease out in a long sigh. "Kit, I think I'm gonna let you land our next stop."

"Me?" Kit squeaked even as fear and excitement boiled within him.

Rebecca yawned mightily and then blinked. "I don't know why I'm so tired," she mumbled as she rubbed her eyes. "I didn't do that much today."

"Playin' is hard work," Wildcat offered as he gathered up the dirty dishes and put them in the sink. "Maybe you should take a nap."

"But what if a customer calls? Or they come to the door?" the little brunette protested.

"None of 'em wanna talk with you, Becky," Molly pointed out. She hadn't meant the remark to be cruel. She was just pointing out a fact. Nevertheless, the smaller girl suddenly felt her eyes misting over.

'I'm not going to cry! They're all stupid thinking I'm a little kid. So I LOOK like a five year old,' she whined as she blinked hard to clear her vision, 'That doesn't mean I AM a little kid!' Molly didn't see it.

"I think Molly should take a nap too," Wildcat suggested seeing Rebecca upset.

"Hey! I'm not a baby!" the golden-furred cub protested.

"Nope but yeah gotta recharge your batteries, Molly. And after your nap, you can play some more!" the mechanic offered.

"I..."

"I think that's a good idea, Wildcat. I am sleepy for some reason," the five year old brunette agreed. "Just an hour and then I can play with you, Molly. What do you say?"

"Well... Okay Becky..." the older cub agreed reluctantly.

"Maybe when Baloo gets back, we'll get Kit to take us for ice cream," Rebecca offered as a compromise. "I mean if we take a nap now, we won't be sleepy when he gets back, will we?"

"Nope!" Molly agreed. The six year old got off her chair and went to the door before turning back, "Well, hurry up, Becky!"

'Hah!' Rebecca thought, 'I might be little but I'm still sneaky!'

Moments later, both young bearesses were up in their room. Rebecca pulled off her dress and climbed onto the bed where she lay down with a yawn and closed her eyes. Molly laid down beside her mother and hugged the younger girl as she snuggled closer.

"Sleep well, Molly."

"You too, Becky," the six year old replied and closed her eyes. The golden-furred cub laid quietly and listened to her mother's slow breathing. After a few minutes, she could tell her mother was sound asleep. Smiling a little to herself at her deception, Molly eased herself up and moved quietly off of the bed making sure not to disturb her mother. She was about to leave the bedroom when she decided to do something nice and put her doll Lucy down beside her slumbering mother.

'Danger Woman has to go on a super secret mission!' Molly had already decided. 'I'm a big girl and don't need no nap.' She quietly donned her Danger Woman guise. ''Sides, '_little Becky's_' asleep. She won't ever know I didn't take a nap and I'll get Frosty Pep and a date with Kit!' This thought made Molly practically dance out of the room as she carefully closed the door behind her.

Coming next in** Chapter 8 "A Cookie and a Piece of Toast"**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


	8. Chapter 8 A Cookie and a Piece of Toast

**A Little Becky Will Do**  
By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "_A Little Becky Will Do_" are copyrighted ©2009-2010 by Will Wolfshohl and Douglas Helm.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.

**Chapter 8 "A Cookie and a Piece of Toast"**

**T**he sun had arced midway down the western sky by the time the Seaduck approached the familiar cliffs guarding the entrance to Cape Suzette Harbor and received clearance to enter. "We aren't gonna tell Ms..."

"Kit, _Becky_."

"It's just us," Kit protested.

Baloo shook his head. "Practice, partner, lots of practice."

"O-KAY," he said while drawing out the word, "We aren't going to mention my landing to BECKY, are we?" He crossed his fingers.

"Actually I plan on it," the gray bear indicated. He gave Kit a reassuring look as the young bear took on a panicked look. "You did fine for your first landing, kid. Didn't hit anything, didn't plow a furrow, and we got our cargo delivered on time."

"I guess those are the good points, Baloo. I felt like I was in a milkshake maker though."

Baloo chuckled. "Not the smoothest landing I'll give you that, but I've had worse."

The bear cub still looked dubious as he questioned, "So why are we tellin' Becky? She'll throw a fit!" Given his boss' current stature, it'd look rather appropriate too.

"I told ya, Li'l Britches. We need to figure out what happens IF we can't get Zivaldo to fix his machine. I know you can't get your pilot's license yet but ain't no harm in getting you ready with me here to watch you."

The young navigator pondered silently as the seaplane wove its way through the cliffs into the air traffic surrounding the harbor and landed. As they taxied up to the Higher for Hire dock, he asked, "You think Becky _won't_ get back to normal? That she'll stay a little kid?"

"I hope not... I'm keeping my fingers crossed, Li'l Britches, but look at what we had to go through to get Molly un-shrunk," Baloo commented as he shut the engines down. "And that time didn't have Air Pirates and Shere Kahn to contend with." He hated thinking of Rebecca growing up all over again but he knew she had no family left after her husband died except for Molly.

It only took Kit Cloudkicker a moment to come up with a response. "So, Papa Bear, when's my next lesson?" The big bear only chuckled and got out of the plane as two cute little girls and a scruffy lion came down the dock to greet them.

As soon as Baloo had settled himself into a well-used and slightly battered easy chair, Rebecca crawled up into his lap and gave him a big hug. "What was that for, Becky," he asked, though he did return the hug.

"I missed you, Uncle Baloo," the little bearess squeaked.

Baloo glanced at Kit who was trying, unsuccessfully, to detach himself from Molly's iron grip. Turning to Wildcat, he asked, "So how'd it go today?"

"Smooth as silk, Baloo," the lion reported.

"Any customers?" Kit wondered.

"Oh sure. I got lots of messages for you," Wildcat replied and started searching his pockets for them.

"They're on the desk. I'll get 'em," Molly volunteered. Much to Kit's relief, the golden cub released him and hurried over to the desk where she grabbed up some sheets of paper lying beside the telephone. A few moments later, she came back to where her mother and Baloo were sitting.

"Thanks, Pigtails," Baloo said while taking the paper and squinting at the notes. "Wildcat old buddy, I think you need to work on your penmanship."

"Some of those are mine," their boss interjected in a sour tone as she looked disgustedly at the small stack of messages. "Hey, it's a lot harder to hold a pen now." 'Stupid kid body!' "Wildcat did a good job but..." 'But he didn't do a complete job.' Not wanting to hurt the meek lion's feelings, she whined, "It was horrible. None of the customers would talk to me."

"Not even over the phone, Becky?" the preteen asked, although he still looked uncomfortable calling the little brunette that.

"No." There was a definite pout in the tone that time. "And no one took me seriously." The little brunette looked between the two bears. "Does my voice sound that childish?" She thought, at least in voice, that she sounded older than Molly.

Molly regarded the younger girl. She knew the feeling well. She had mixed feelings. Rarely was the six year old taken seriously by grownups. Part of her wanted to say, "_Now you know how I feel, Mommy._" The other part remembered how teary-eyed and dejected her little mother looked and felt sad for her. So she said nothing.

"Well," Baloo began while hugging Rebecca a little tighter, "It does sound um... different than your normal voice, Becky. Though I thought the phone wouldn't cause too much trouble."

"Well, it did... Gee, if it weren't for Wildcat..." the brunette cub grumbled. "I couldn't really concentrate today for some reason."

"You're still getting over what happened, Becky," Kit observed, trying to put the best spin on it.

"That's right, and you were tired too and had a nice nap." The two little girls exchanged mischievous glances and then broke into giggles.

"I think somebody blindfolded ya, Wildcat."

"Oh no, Kit," the lion disagreed, "Molly and I didn't play hide 'n' seek today." He thought about it for a moment. "But I bet that would be fun."

"Molly, did you and Rebecca take a nap this afternoon?" Kit questioned.

"Yeah sure," the golden cub declared nervously.

"Really?" Baloo asked while he pinned Molly with a stern look, "You wouldn't fib to Ol' Baloo, now would you Cupcake?" The six year old squirmed while looking away. He knew that Molly rarely took naps. He turned his gaze onto Rebecca. "Did you really take a nap, Becky?"

"Um sorta," the five year old bearess temporized.

"How can you just SORTA take a nap?"

"Maybe you sleep standing up?" Wildcat offered. "I mean when you sleepwalk... Are you really sleeping?" The others stared in bewilderment at the scraggily lion. "Maybe I can try that tonight and see..."

"Make sure to let us know how that turns out, Wildcat."

"Okie-dokie," the mechanic agreed and left the office.

"Now," Baloo began again regarding both children, "Would someone like to tell Baloo what you two did today besides napping?"

"Cookies!" Rebecca squealed while starting to shift off of Baloo's lap.

"What?" Kit asked.

"That's right, cookies. I said me and Molly would get cookies when you got home," she announced.

Rebecca dropped to the floor and was about to head for the kitchen to retrieve the jar when Molly put her hands on her hips and protested, "BECKY, you SAID we'd ask Kit to get us ICE CREAM!" She felt rather proud of herself. Besides, she'd rather have ice cream than cookies.

"Well, that was before YOU snuck off!" her young mother retorted.

"I didn't sneak off," she corrected, "_Danger Woman_ did."

"You were just PRETENDING to be Danger Woman, Molly," Rebecca argued.

"And YOU were just pretendin' to be my faithful sidekick!" the older child countered then explained, "And you weren't a very good one either. You kept trying to boss Danger Woman around!"

"Yeah well... You had FOUR cookies!" the younger girl complained.

"I'm bigger than you," Molly protested. "Besides, Becky, you could've had more!"

"Li'l Britches, do you get the feeling they forgot about us?" Baloo asked his young navigator softly. Kit watched the squabbling girls for a moment and then nodded. Baloo allowed them to continue to argue for another thirty seconds before deciding that he'd heard enough. "**QUIET!**" he shouted while standing up. Both little girls started and turned to stare up at him. "Molly Cunningham," he began pointing to Molly, "You in THAT corner over there."

"But Baloo!"

The big bear ignored the golden cub's objections. "And you, Rebecca Cunningham, park your little tail over in THAT corner!" He pointed to the corner opposite of Molly's.

"But Baloo...!" both children whined.

"Baloo..." Kit interjected urgently but his friend waved him down.

"No buts, Rebecca. Weren't you just arguing with Molly? And squabbling over who took the most cookies? AND this cookie-napping caper was happening while, as far as I ken figure, after you both told Wildcat that you were taking a nap?" The little brunette bowed her head dejectedly and shuffled her feet. "Now I know you're really an adult. 'N' I know that we're gonna get this sorted out but it's awful hard to think of you as ANYTHING but a LITTLE girl when you fought with Molly like you were just now."

The big gray bear waited to see if his regressed boss would argue but she remained silent. She just stood there with her paws clasped behind her back, staring at her feet. Satisfied that the five year old was considering her actions, Baloo turned to the older girl. "And as for you, Molly, you fibbed to me, which I don't like. But what I don't like even worse is you fibbing to Wildcat. You're supposed to be the older one." Molly began to protest. He stood there and just let her continue to ramble until she petered out into silence and started shifting from foot to foot.

During her tirade, Kit thought, 'Whoa! I've never saw this side of Baloo before.' In his tenure as Baloo's navigator, he'd seen Baloo the partier, the fighter, the downtrodden employee, the ace pilot, even Baloo the big hearted, but he'd rarely seen Baloo the parent. As he watched the golden-furred cub squirm as Baloo stood there looking disapprovingly down at her, the preteen was struck by a feeling. 'He's done this before.'

"Are you finished?" Molly nodded glumly at her presumptive father's question. "Then, young lady, trot over to that corner and stay there quietly until I tell you to come out." He waited until the six year old complied and then he turned to Rebecca. "Becky, I know you're really an adult but until we get this straightened out, you wanted me to be your uncle. Thing is if you two acted like you just did out in public, wouldn't it to look strange if I let you two just keep arguing? Or even worse let you sass me because we both know you're a grownup?"

"It'd look really bad," the brunette bearess admitted, peeking up timidly from under her eyelashes.

"Yes it would. People would think I wasn't raising MY niece properly or..." He glanced to where Molly was standing, "My daughter. And maybe a potential customer sees us and gets to thinkin' that if I can't be responsible for my own family, maybe I wouldn't care very much about his cargo and decides to find a different company."

"That would be really bad!" Rebecca exclaimed. She lifted her head to stare at the big bear as if she hadn't pondered that possibility until that very moment.

'Talk about a direct hit!' Kit thought, 'Becky loves this business. It'd kill her if we lost Higher for Hire because of something she did.'

Baloo smiled, knelt down, and placed his hand atop the five year old's shoulder. "Yes it would, Rebecca. You've done a lot to make this place prosper. Much more than I ever did. It's up to you, but if you were serious about keeping this cover, I think you need to take some time to think about what you were just arguing with Molly about."

"Yes, Uncle Baloo." The little brunette resolutely turned and headed for the corner Baloo had originally pointed to.

Kit took this chance to herd his large friend into the kitchen. "Okay Baloo," he started in a low voice, "Where the heck did you learn to pull a rabbit out of a hat?"

"Didn't seem right to punish Molly and let her little 'cousin' off for doing the same thing," he answered quietly with a shrug.

"I didn't mean that, Papa Bear. I meant HOW did you convince her? I've never seen you act like that before!"

The preteen watched as his mentor's face took on a troubled expression and then it cleared. Much to his irritation, the big bear answered with, "Practice, Kit, just like making a three-point landing, lots and lots of practice."

Kit opened his mouth to respond but they heard Wildcat calling from the office, "Baloo-ooo-ooo!"

Baloo stepped past the twelve year old and pushed the door open, "What's up, Wildcat?"

"There's a nice smelling lady and a guy asking for toast out here."

Baloo looked at Kit; Kit looked at Baloo. "Dr. Zivaldo!" they both declared together and rushed towards the office door.

"So THIS is where you have been hiding!" was Dr. Zivaldo's greeting to Kit when both bears came out of the office.

"You know this child?" It was the same sharp-tongued tigress from when the machine was initially delivered. Kit bristled at being called a child but Dr. Zivaldo answered in his energetic and chaotic way. The diminutive fox was wearing the same bowtie, glasses, and lab coat that they had seen him wearing months ago.

"Of course, I know him. He assisted me with one of my greatest creations: **The Enlarging Machine**!" She looked dubious and flicked imaginary dust from her coat. "Where were you all this time? I keep forgetting to plug things in and you make excellent toast." In his opinion, his current assistants were much less reliable.

"Uh, thanks..." Kit replied.

"Did Kahn..."

"Not out here," the woman hissed looking around to see if they had been overheard. "Dr. Zivaldo, let's go into the office and we can see the test subject that Mr. Kahn wishes you to examine."

"Her name is Rebecca, missy, not the test subject," Baloo growled. His desire to help Rebecca put a lid on his annoyance with the arrogant woman so instead he led the way into the office. "Becky, come here. Dr. Zivaldo is here and..." The five year old seemed to teleport from the corner to stand beside Baloo in almost an instant. The problem was so did Molly. "Molly Elizabeth, did I tell you you could leave the corner?" The little blonde's paws were placed on her hips in annoyance.

"No, B-Daddy, but..." his "daughter" whined. 'He's that mad doctor.'

"If you say one more word, young lady, I'm gonna spank you. Now get back over there." The six year old huffed and stomped her foot but complied. Baloo glanced at Rebecca but he was too focused on Dr. Zivaldo to complain at what Baloo had said.

"Who's this?" Dr. Zivaldo wondered and then inquired of Rebecca, "What do you like on your toast, young lady?"

She thought for a moment. "Oh strawberry jam, or honey."

"Jam is good but I like butter. The problem is it always lands with the butter side down."

"Not if you manage to rotate the toast properly as it falls," the five year old offered matter-of-factly. "It's all in the wrist."

"Really?"

"Becky, Doc," Baloo interrupted. "Dr. Zivaldo, you made a machine that made things younger, right?"

"I did?" He was momentarily confused. "Oh yes, it worked very well." The dog he zapped became an affectionate puppy.

"Well, it worked on Rebecca too, Doc." He pointed to the brunette bearess. "She was an adult but now she's a little kid."

"Really?" the diminutive fox asked and adjusted his thick glasses, "Hmmm..." He walked around her, occasionally poking the five year old, which elicited giggles, and staring. After a couple minutes of this, Dr. Zivaldo just stood there rubbing his chin and then declared, "HA!" Which made all of them jump. "This just goes to show how much of a genius I truly am." Turning to Kit, he asked, "So what are you doing here, kid?"

"Um..." Thinking quickly, the preteen fibbed, "Searching for the perfect toast!"

"**HEY!**" Molly squawked, "**PUT KIT IN THE CORNER, DADDY. HE'S FIBBIN'!**"

Baloo had reached her by the end of her demand and smacked the six year old soundly on her bottom causing her to squeal. "Hush, young lady, let the grownups handle this," he admonished. Kit was gaping. Molly had never been spanked in her life as far as he knew. He regarded Rebecca. She was frowning slightly but otherwise didn't react.

Oblivious, the eccentric scientist inquired, "Really? Any progress?"

"Huh? What?"

"The toast!" Dr. Zivaldo offered. "You said you were searching for the perfect piece of toast. I would be interested in reviewing your research. Did you ever find it?"

"No, Doc," Kit answered while trying to sound serious. He regarded the thirtyish tigress behind Dr. Zivaldo. She had a look on her face as if someone had shoved dung under her nose.

"So, Doc, you can reverse what your machine did, right?" Baloo finally asked the absent-minded scientist.

"Huh, what?" Dr. Zivaldo asked while looking around, "What did my machine do?"

"Becky, remember?" Baloo hissed while pointing towards the five year old bearess. "Your doohickey changed her into this girl from an adult woman."

"Well of course, it did. I'm the greatest scientist that ever lived after all. Anyone have some toast?"

"So you can change her back?" Kit asked him.

"What? A machine that makes things older... Impossible... You've been reading too much science fiction."

"**What do you mean IMPOSSIBLE?**" Rebecca shrieked while grabbing at the fox who was about the same size as Kit. "You have to be able to change me back!" Despite her small size, he cringed backwards.

"Easy Becky!" Baloo scolded. He pried her fingers off of Dr. Zivaldo who was bawling something incomprehensible. His "assistant" interposed her body between the feisty child and the mad scientist.

After a few minutes, they managed to calm the crazy inventor down. At least enough for Kit to ask a question. "Why can't you make her big again, Doc?" Kit questioned. "You made her young, so why can't you make her old again?"

"Hey buster! I was not old!" Rebecca hollered as the big bear held her close to him, although part of her agreed with the preteen cub's assessment.

"It's impossible," Dr. Zivaldo stated simply. "Whoever heard of reverse-regressing someone? The Quantum strings would get completely tangled because..." The crazy fox launched off into a long-winded explanation that went clear into outer space and ended with the good doctor wondering if blueberries needed consoling because they were blue. This last bit made Rebecca giggle then blush.

'That wasn't nice but he's so funny!' the bearess thought. She seemed to forget why the loony man was there in the first place.

"So you can't do it, Doc?" Kit asked.

"Nobody could," Dr. Zivaldo answered then without saying good-bye, he started for the door.

It was at this point the tigress with him acting as his handler declared, "Kahn Industries will encourage him to think in that direction, Mr. Bear. Perhaps if the machine reappears, we can reverse engineer the process."

In the executive conference room, Shere Kahn, the wealthy and successful businessman and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kahn Industries, was conducting a high-level meeting of his management team. "Next order of business, the report on the efforts to locate our stolen equipment."

A thirty-something lioness dressed in a brown business suit and wearing a pearl necklace rose and consulted her notes before speaking, "Sir, we have assets searching for both the Iron Vulture as well as their secret base Pirate Island. We currently have no solid leads on the location of their base. However, we do have confirmed sightings of the Iron Vulture in the past thirty-six hours, but all were several hours old."

"What's a '_confirmed sighting_'?" an older looking tiger questioned.

"Two or more people reporting the same sighting," the lioness answered.

"Continue," Kahn commanded.

"We have an elite delta team ready to deploy the moment we establish a solid location. A midair raid would be difficult. However, we do know that the Iron Vulture must land from time to time to take on both fuel and provisions. Our intelligence indicates that the Air Pirates have several hidden caches, so they can operate independent of their base for days or even weeks."

"Very well, Ms. Bainbridge," Kahn declared. "I want the machine found with all dispatch... but quietly." He waited to see if any of his executives had a comment. "On to a related matter, do you have the report from Dr. Pierce?"

"Yes, Mr. Kahn," said the lioness and flipped a few pages to get to the relevant information.

On the last cargo run of the day for the Higher for Hire crew, Baloo decided to take both girls with him and Kit. It was a short hop. He trusted his regressed boss with Wildcat, at least when she was an adult. It was apparent though that Molly was leading the younger girl astray when Rebecca's adult mind occasionally slipped. Relatively speaking, things went well. Kit did experience a mild panic attack however when Baloo insisted that he land again with his little boss present. Both male bears were disconcerted though when after they landed, Rebecca asked Kit to show her how to fly. Considering the brunette WAS a licensed pilot, it was not a good sign.

After supper that evening, Kit walked into the kitchen of the Higher for Hire office. He found Baloo sitting alone at the table. A small gray metal box sat open in front of him, which he'd never seen before. Whatever the older bear was looking at was so engrossing that he didn't hear the preteen cub enter behind him. "Whatcha got, Papa Bear? Treasure?" the cub asked half-jokingly.

His friend and mentor gave a start, looked up, and smiled. It was a smile of both happiness and sadness. "Much more important than any treasure, Kit, at least ta me. You'd find it boring. Just some old family pictures of mine." Without giving Kit a chance to view them, he quickly stowed them away in the box. "Tomorrow's cargo run?" he asked spotting the chart in his navigator's arm.

"No... I was thinking that we need to get the machine back from Karnage."

"I ken agree with that!" the big bear remarked. "What's your thinkin', Li'l Britches?"

"That's how we got Molly back to normal," Kit began, spreading the map out on the table. "Now there's two possibilities. Either Karnage has it on the Iron Vulture... or he's taken it to Pirate Island."

"We only went there once. Do you remember exactly where Pirate Island is?"

"Sure do," the cub answered with confidence. "Not many pirates even know where it is, but Don Karnage was grooming me to take over, remember? At least that's what he always told me." He shuddered a little at the memory. "Scotty I mean Jock knows of course, Gibber, and me... and Will..."

"Will?"

"Karnage's second mate," Kit clarified. "Maddog but that's 'cause he and Dumptruck get sent out on spy missions. The rest of those goons could barely find their way to the head. So getting there won't be a problem if the weather cooperates, Papa Bear. I'll get you there just like before."

"I know you can, Kit..." The big pilot shook his head and then asked, "But, Li'l Britches, how do we know where Karny has it? Sure, we could go to Pirate Island but..." He studied the charts. "That's an awful long trip, and if memory serves, into nasty country on no evidence and if it's on the Vulture... Well, that would be even harder to find and sneak onto. I don't wanna spend any more time in Karnage's brig iffen I can avoid it." He didn't point out that it'd be near impossible to move either way if it was still uncrated.

"I know, Papa Bear," the preteen agreed, "But we have to plan and keep our ears open. I mean Shere Kahn will likely want the machine back, right?"

"Yeah, but that don't mean he'd let us use it except maybe to see if Zivaldo's new machine for growing people up again will work. His schedule might not be the same as ours, Li'l Britches."

"What is our schedule?"

"As soon as possible," Baloo said simply, "'Cause I have an awful feelin' that if this goes on too long, Rebecca won't ever be the same person. Look at this afternoon."

"Yeah, they were squabbling over cookies... and at supper when you said that they'd already had dessert and they didn't need any more, both of them threw a fit!" The brown bear cub took on a pensive look. "Say, Baloo, do you think letting them bathe together is a good idea?"

"Becky can't complain, kid, saves on the water bill. Not to mention me lugging hot water up there." He took on a dreamy look. "Maybe after this is over, I can convince Beckers to put in one of those new-fangled water heat..." Shaking his head, he continued, "Nah... Anyways, they're both little girls and related. Makes a lot of sense and she didn't seem to mind."

"I was thinking more about Molly," Kit remarked.

Baloo got a wicked gleam in his eye as he asked innocently, "Don't tell me you WANT to be her boyfriend, Kit."

"BALO-OO!" Kit protested and he took on a murderous look as his big friend laughed.

While Kit and Baloo were talking downstairs, Rebecca and Molly were busy upstairs taking their bath. "I don't see why I have to take a bath with you. I'm a _big girl_!" the larger girl complained. 'Kit probably thinks I'm a baby.'

"Uncle Baloo, says it saves on water," the younger girl countered while hunting for the soap, which had vanished under the soapy surface of the water. "I mean if we took 'em separately, then Uncle Baloo would have to drain and refill the tub after each one of us is done. We're small enough to both fit okay and 'sides, this is lots more fun. Just like sisters... Got it!" Her little paw grasped the slippery bar and lifted it from the depths. A moment later, it popped out, landed on the floor, and slid under the sink. "Oh bother!" Rebecca grumbled as she clambered out of the tub to retrieve the soap.

"Becky!" Molly protested, "You should have a towel!"

"Why Molly?" the naked five year old queried, while reaching for the wayward bar of soap, "I'm just gonna get it and get right back in."

"It's not what a proper lady does!" the golden-furred cub declared. "What if Kit came in?" she worried.

Grabbing the soap with both paws, little Rebecca stood up to face her daughter, "And just how would you know what a '_proper lady_' does, Miss I-Wear-Overalls?"

Molly stuck her tongue out before saying, "Kit doesn't care what I wear! AND I am OLDER than you are!" The golden-furred cub took on a smug expression.

"Only _until_ we get the machine back, then I'll be big again," the younger cub pointed out while climbing back over the wall of the tub. The five year old gave her daughter a grin. "After all, I'm the '_real_' lady. I wear dresses and have boobies and everything." The little bearess looked upwards tapping her chin, and said to herself, "Hmm... Now let's see... Who'd Kit want? A little kid who'll take FOREVER to grow up... Or me who only needs the machine?"

"That's not true, Becky!" the six year cub shouted angrily, "Besides, **Kit's MY boyfriend!**"

"I dunno, Molly. I think Kit's just playing along with you. I mean you REALLY are six."

"Six and a half!" Molly corrected. "You're REALLY old. You can have Baloo. Kit's mine!"

"Six, six and a half? What's the difference? You're still just a _little girl_," the brunette bearess commented with a shrug of dismissal, "Now me... Well even if I do stay five, Kit knows I'm a PROPER lady 'cause I wear dresses and don't hog all the cookies for myself. He'll want me for **his** girlfriend."

"**Becky! Take that back!**" the golden-furred bearess demanded.

"Take what back, **little girl**?" Molly wasn't going to stand for this from a kindergarten baby. There was only one thing to do. Using both paws, she shoved a wave of water right at her smaller mother who caught it full in the face. "Hey!"

"Hay is for horses!" Molly parroted one of her mother's favorite sayings. She then splashed the angry-looking '_baby_' in the tub with her again. With an angry squeal, Rebecca retaliated and the _War of the Tub_ had begun.

Coming next in **Chapter 9 "Young at Heart"**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


	9. Chapter 9 Young at Heart

**A Little Becky Will Do**  
By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "_A Little Becky Will Do_" are copyrighted ©2009-2010 by Will Wolfshohl and Douglas Helm.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.

**Chapter 9 "Young at Heart"**

**W**hen Kit Cloudkicker awoke that morning, he knew something was wrong. He was lying on his side in bed but there was something soft and warm snuggled up against his back. Sleepily turning his head, he looked over his shoulder and was greeted by the golden fur of Molly Cunningham. The first-grader was clad in her typical bunny-footed pajamas and holding Lucy in her right arm. 'Oh no.' She wiggled, muttered something, and much to Kit's alarm, she wrapped her left arm around his neck in a death grip.

The preteen cub's first instinct was to check and see if Baloo was watching. If he was, Kit just knew that his mentor would tease him for days, possibly weeks. Kit was therefore relieved when he confirmed that Baloo was in his own bed soundly snoring away. But Baloo wasn't alone either. 'Becky?' The cub couldn't help but gawk at the unexpected sight of his regressed boss snuggled up contently against his friend's bulk. Despite her tiny size, her frilly red nightgown was hard to miss against the white of Baloo's nightshirt. Her small head was resting contentedly against his shoulder as she slept.

As Kit's brain grew more aware, he wondered what the two girls were doing in Baloo and his bedroom. 'Now I know where Molly gets it... But Papa Bear'll have kittens if he finds her there!' He remembered the previous evening. Baloo had summarily put them to bed in the guestroom after breaking up their latest squabble. Shrugging the question aside, Kit decided to gently try to remove Molly's arm from around his neck without waking her. It was to no avail. The golden cub only clung on tighter and muttered, "Kit's mine!"

'I don't want to know...' he thought and considered his options. After a moment, he reached backwards with his free paw and poked the child in the side. When that didn't do it, he pinched her, not very hard but hard enough to garner a reaction. 'Bingo!' Kit silently cheered as Molly's arm came free from him with a grunt. She flopped back onto her back and started mumbling about dates and Frosty Pep. Shuddering a little at the implications, Kit gently and silently eased himself out of bed, collected his clothing, and crept from the room.

Minutes later and now fully dressed, the brown-furred cub came down into the kitchen to make himself breakfast. Already the early morning sounds of the Cape Suzette harbor floated in through the open window. He was standing by the counter waiting for his toast to pop up when he spotted it. It was the "box"... The box he'd seen Baloo tinkering with last night. There it sat still on the table. 'Baloo must've forgotten to put it away after breaking up the girls' fight last night.' The young man chewed his lip while glancing at the kitchen door into the main office.

The sound of the toaster finishing its job made the young man jump. Shaking his head, Kit turned back to finish his breakfast preparations. 'It's not MY business!' he lectured himself firmly, 'If Papa Bear wants you to know what's in the box, he'll tell you!'

# # # # #

Meanwhile upstairs, Rebecca Cunningham yawned, stretched, and sat up. At first, she didn't recognize where she was but then she quickly spotted Baloo's snoring form lying next to her. 'What the...?' the five year old wondered, 'Why am I... Did I come in here last night?' She pondered that for a moment and fuzzily remembered waking up in the middle of the night feeling frightened. She wasn't sure exactly what had scared her but she just knew that she was. Molly at first feigned the brave big sister but was quickly infected by the fear that her young mother had felt. 'We did sneak in here!' she realized and felt herself blushing. 'Gosh, I'm glad I woke up _before_ Baloo! He'd think I was a baby. I wonder if Kit saw me?' She regarded Kit's bed and saw only Molly sleeping in it.

The child climbed out of bed making sure not to disturb Baloo or wake Molly. She then quickly padded across the room and tried to recall the day before. 'I didn't do much except play.' She thought harder as she went into the bathroom. 'And **Baloo stood me in a corner!**' Rebecca felt indignant about that but as she thought of the reason, she felt herself blushing in embarrassment again. Thinking about the fight with her six year old daughter the night before made her feel even worse. 'I acted like a little kid. **What's happening to me?**'

It was while she was washing her hands that she remembered Dr. Zivaldo's visit. "That stupid fox!" she declared. She winced when she realized she was almost yelling and covered her muzzle with her wet paws. 'Don't wanna wake anybody up.' She stood silently for a moment to make sure no one had heard her.

Not long afterward, she left the bathroom and headed downstairs. 'I'd better get some work done today. I spent way too much time yesterday being _distracted_. It was nice getting some playtime in though.' Since she had purchased Higher for Hire, she rarely had time to play with her daughter. She usually relied on Kit to entertain Molly. The five year old padded quietly across through office toward the kitchen. 'It's not fair to make him...' Crossing inside, she found Kit eating breakfast. "M-Morning Kit!"

"Hi Becky," Kit replied with a grin. "Hungry?" Her stomach growled an answer for her, which made her giggle. "You're starting to sound like Papa Bear, kid." That reference made her giggle even more. "I'll get you some cereal."

"Thanks Kit," the little bearess chirped. 'He's the bestest.' Once the older bear got up to retrieve her breakfast, she climbed onto the chair with the books on it that she'd used the night before. "What's in the box?" she asked curiously.

"Old pictures and stuff... I think," Kit speculated. Wiggling off her chair, Rebecca climbed up onto Kit's chair and started to reach for the box but the preteen bear's disapproving tone stopped her. "Becky, those are private. You wouldn't want Baloo to think you were snooping, would you?"

"But how do you know they were pictures if you didn't snoop?"

"'Cause I saw Baloo looking at 'em last night," Kit supplied. He came back with her breakfast and set it down on the table. "Come on, Becky, you hate soggy cereal." Little Rebecca longed to look into the box but she could tell that Kit wasn't going to allow her.

'I'm the boss!' she thought grumpily but the last thing she wanted was for Kit to tattle on her to Uncle Baloo... especially this early in the morning! Besides, Kit might get blamed too. 'And maybe if I get started early, I can play with Molly later and not feel guilty.' She seemed to be full of energy this morning. 'Molly is so lucky she doesn't have to do boring work.'

# # # # #

Baloo Bear woke up with a snort, sat up, and looked around. He was more than a little confused when he looked over and saw Molly (instead of Kit) sleeping in Kit's bed. Shrugging and thankful the six year old was still just that - sleeping - the gray bear got up and headed for the bathroom. He'd just finished his business and was leaving when Molly shot past him and slammed the door. "Good morning to you too, cupcake," he muttered at the closed door and yawned. 'Well let's see... Do I leave the kids with Wildcat today or take them with me on the run?' he considered as he returned into his room and closed the door. He still hadn't made a decision by the time that he'd finished dressing.

'I guess they'll be all right here with Wildcat while me 'n' Kit make our run to the Lake District today. I'll just have to make sure Molly and Rebecca know that they have to listen to him and not try to trick him or there'll be consequences.' He was sure that Rebecca wouldn't even consider misbehaving. She apparently had been a more reserved little girl than her daughter was. He briefly wondered what had made her change when she grew up. Nevertheless, given what had happened yesterday, Baloo was convinced that Molly was bound to lead the younger girl into trouble sooner or later. 'Comes from Becky coddling her,' the gray bear assumed as he scratched an itch on his back.

He came through the kitchen door and spotted both Rebecca and Kit at the table eating. "Morning!" he called out.

Rebecca gave him a radiant smile and shot from her chair. Rushing over to where he stood in the doorway, the little girl gave him the biggest hug she could manage given her petite size. "Morning, Uncle Baloo! Can I go flyin' with you today? Please please please?" the cute five year old pleaded.

"Nah, you'd be bored, Beckers. Iffen I 'member correctly, I got a do a bunch of lake-hopping."

"Yeah, Lake Cherry," Kit began while ticking the destinations off on his fingers, "Lake Flaccid and..."

"We went to Lake Flaccid once, didn't we?" Rebecca interrupted. "That was fun! And Molly wasn't there! I know! Let's go there, Uncle Baloo, and Molly can stay HERE with Wildcat." She practically bounced with excitement at the prospect.

"Don't you wanna play with Molly today, Becky?" he asked as he bent down and scooped the little girl up.

She hugged him about the neck for a moment and then looking seriously at him declared, "Nah... She's too bossy..." Then twisting around towards Kit, she asked, "Hey, Kit, can I please try out your airfoil again?"

"Um... I don't know, Becky..." Kit answered reluctantly, "I thought you didn't like it."

"I did! I did!" the little girl squeaked while bouncing up and down in Baloo's arms, "**It's so AWESOME!**"

"What was awesome, Becky?" another voice questioned. Baloo turned, spotted Molly, and stepped further into the kitchen so the golden-furred cub could fully enter the room.

"Kit's airfoil!" Rebecca exclaimed. Then leaning over to look down at Molly, she informed the girl proudly, "He took me for a ride."

"You're fibbing. You weren't ever on Kit's airfoil!" Molly immediately declared. "Kit's only taken me!" She whirled to where Kit was sitting and demanded, "Ain't that right, Kit?"

"Well... Molly... er..." the preteen began to sputter while tugging on the collar of his sweater. He took on a rather nervous look as Molly stomped her way across the kitchen to stand beside her putative boyfriend. He knew where this was likely heading.

Putting her hands on her hips, the six year old demanded, "You DIDN'T take BECKY on YOUR airfoil, did you Kit? You're my boyfriend, not hers."

Kit gave a pleading look to Baloo to save him but the larger bear was going to stay out of it as long as possible. Rebecca however didn't have any qualms about coming to the preteen's defense. Squirming free of the gray bear, she rushed around to stand on the other side of Kit. Putting her own hands on her hips, she glared up at the bigger girl. "Molly, leave Kit alone!" the little brunette demanded.

"And don't you fib, Becky!" Molly shot back.

"Fib? I didn't!"

"Did!"

"Didn't!"

"Did! Did! Did!" Molly exclaimed. She leaned across Kit to better glare down at her diminutive mother.

"Didn't! Didn't! Didn't!" Rebecca parroted back at the older bearess while leaning across Kit. The two little girl's noses pressed together as they glowered at each other.

In unison, they both turned and demanded, "Tell her, Kit!"

"You were both on my airfoil before," the boy confessed then closed his eyes waiting for the impending explosion. It didn't take long in coming.

"She was NOT!" Molly shouted.

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"WAS TOO!"

"WAS NOT!"

"**QUIET!**" Baloo commanded. He marched over to stand behind Kit and announced, "If you're done with breakfast, Rebecca, go on upstairs and brush your teeth and dress. Molly, park yourself at the table and I'll get you somethin' to eat." Molly, the events of the previous day still fresh in her mind, went to her place at the table without complaint.

"But Uncle..." Rebecca began to whine.

"Now, young lady," Baloo instructed firmly. Grumbling, Rebecca left the room. "As for you, Molly, what were you doing sleeping in Kit's bed this morning?" he asked while he headed for the cupboards. "I thought I put you and Becky to bed in your room."

"Becky had a bad dream," the older girl announced in a singsong voice.

"**DID NOT!**" the five year old shrieked as she came charging back into the room.

"DID TOO!"

"DID NOT!"

Baloo sighed. 'Today is going to be a LONG day,' he thought. "BECKY!" he hissed over her loud protest that she was not a scaredy-cat crybaby. "Go get dressed! Or do you want me to do it?" Thankfully, that did the trick and had her pelting out of the room. He fixed Molly with a look, waited to make sure Rebecca had left, and then said, "Young lady, if you don't want liver and onions for supper tonight, you'll show me you're a big girl and not pick on your little sis-Rebecca."

"Yes sir," Molly agreed, lowering her head and staring the table.

"Kit, I hate to say this, but I'm gonna leave you here today."

"What? Why?"

"I think Wildcat will need some help with these two," he explained.

"Oh please, Baloo, let me come!" Kit begged. 'I don't wanna stay here with two little kids.' What if his friends from school saw him?

Baloo looked past his navigator. "Well, iffen I know these two won't get into a fight..." He looked directly at Molly and continued, "Or fib to Wildcat..." He was pleased to see the little girl wince at that. "Then I think you can go. But right this second, it ain't looking good."

Kit got up and stalked from the room. Molly might have followed but she was hungry. Moreover, she could tell Baloo wasn't in any mood to stand any foolishness. Instead, she asked, "Daddy, where'd that box come from?"

"Box?" Baloo's head turned and when he saw what box she was talking about he hurried over, grabbed it up, and hurried out of the room. 'I can't believe I left this out! How'd I forget to put this away?'

# # # # #

"What's the matter, Kit?" Rebecca wondered seeing Kit's dejected expression as she skipped down the stairs. She was dressed in a pale yellow sundress with little pink polka dots that she had bought Molly for the start of kindergarten. The five year old came over to where the preteen was. He was sitting in Baloo's favorite chair. "You look kinda down."

"Baloo says if he can't trust you and Molly with Wildcat, I'm gonna have to stay here."

"Don't worry, Kit!" Rebecca declared smugly. "I'll go talk to Uncle Baloo. He can trust me. I'll be a good lit... I mean I AM a grownup after all!" With that, she skipped towards the kitchen.

The little bearess failed to notice the preteen cover his face with his paws and moan, "I'm doomed!"

# # # # #

"Please let me come?" Kit begged. He and Baloo were standing on the dock about half an hour later. "Please, Papa Bear?"

"Kit," Baloo began with obviously restrained patience, "Sometimes you gotta do stuff you don't like. This time just happens to be one of 'em."

"But, Baloo, why am I being punished for what they did? I mean they won't listen to me either!"

'Hang the kid,' Baloo thought as he took his hat off and rubbed his scalp. 'He would use that argument.' Sighing, he replaced his pilot's cap firmly. "Okay, kid, here's what we're gonna do. I'll take Molly with me on the Seaduck and you can stay here with Becky." 'She'll be a lot easier for the kid to care of.'

The cub opened his mouth to protest and after noting the expression on his friend's face, he closed it with a click of teeth. "Becky won't like that."

"Sure, she will," Baloo disagreed confidently as he headed up the dock towards the pier, "Beckers will think I don't trust Molly but I trust her... which is true enough to be the '_whole truth so help me_' and having her boyfriend all to herself..."

"**BA-LO-OO!**" Kit shouted as his face turned red, "**WOULD YOU CUT IT OUT!**"

The big bear paused and asked his young friend, "Well, what would you prefer, Li'l Britches? A bit of teasing or me telling Molly this was your idea?" Kit's blush suddenly vanished as he paled. As the preteen rapidly shook his head, the big bear chuckled. "Thought so."

Rebecca of course was ecstatic. Molly... Molly howled like a banshee at the unfairness of it all. Much to Kit's relief, Baloo didn't redirect the golden-furred child's rage at him.

# # # # #

"You're not very happy with us, are you?" Rebecca Cunningham asked as she regarded Kit Cloudkicker. The young man was slumped in Baloo's favorite easy chair and hadn't moved since Baloo had flown off with Molly. That was a half-hour ago. Wildcat had left the pair alone to fidget with something in his shack.

"You know how much I love flying, Becky," he grumbled. And summer was the perfect time to clock in more hours flying. "I just don't get why I gotta stay here. I mean if Baloo was taking Molly anyway, why couldn't he have taken all of us?"

Rebecca looked down at the invoices spread out before her and noticed she'd been doodling rather than actually working on them. Feeling her cheeks flush, the bearess shook her head. She turned, slid from the desk chair at the desk, and padded across the floor coming to a stop next to the easy chair. She gave the young man a sad look. 'It's my fault I couldn't help him.' "I'm really sorry, Kit. I got you into this and I feel really bad about it."

"Nah," Kit countered, seeing her big brown eyes misting over. "Now don't cry! I'm just being grumpy about not getting to go but I've had to stay behind before."

"You didn't liked those times either," Rebecca remembered. Thinking back on it when she was a grownup, she had sometimes been mean to him. She resisted the urge to climb up and hug him or sit beside Kit (or sit on his lap). 'He wouldn't want that... I wanna though! No, that's something a _little girl_ would do. I don't wanna be like Molly.' "Maybe we can do something!"

"We need to stay here in case customers come, Becky," Kit argued.

"Well, we could let Wildcat watch the place and we could go somewhere," she suggested.

"Like where?" the preteen asked suspiciously. 'Please don't say buy Frosty Pep...'

"Well..." She tapped her chin. "We could go on an adventure! I mean I bet Dr. Zivaldo's back in that scary old warehouse we found Molly in that time! I mean you helped Molly, right? So maybe if you help the craz-er, um... nice fox, I can get big again quicker."

"I dunno," Kit said dubiously. "He had the machine the last time, didn't he?"

The girl slumped a little in defeat. "I guess you're right, Kit." Straightening, she was about to tell the older cub that she wasn't a quitter when the phone rang. Kit jumped up to get it. 'Darn!' the little girl thought. The brunette looked towards her desk and its payload of invoices again. 'I know I should do that but I can't concentrate. Not when Kit needs my help. Maybe if I get rid of some of this energy...' She considered for a moment as Kit took the call.

"A safari? To where?" Kit was asking the caller.

'Safari!' Little Rebecca's eyes widened as a brilliant idea came to her. Turning, she scampered for the stairs. 'Oh, that's it! Now where did I put that hat?'

# # # # #

Cindy Parker was a petite twelve year old lynx. Her golden hair was gathered into a loose ponytail that hung to her shoulder blades. Her ponytail was adorned with a pretty butterfly beret given to her by her mother last Christmas. She was wearing a pink summer dress and her green eyes were turned downward. She was walking down the sidewalk, not really paying attention to where she was, and scuffing her white patent leather shoes... the ones she'd gotten from her Aunt Rose.

'Stupid Aunt Rose,' Cindy grumbled, 'Why does she have to come stay with us?' Not only did her aunt smell like rubbing liniment, but the old woman was also a cheek pincher. That was not the worst of it. What really irked the sixth-grader was the fact that she had been forced to share a room with her baby sister for the duration of her aunt's visit. 'And I just FINALLY got my own room!' In a fit of temper her mother wouldn't stand, she kicked a rock. 'It ain't fair!'

"OW!"

Cindy's head came up and she realized the pebble she'd kicked must have hit someone. "Oh I'm sorry!" the preteen lynx exclaimed as she felt herself blushing, "I didn't mean to get you."

"S'okay," a little girl in the strange outfit replied, "I thought I was being attacked by claim jumpers."

"Really?" Cindy blinked. This kid was even younger than her little sister was. She looked the kid over to make sure she wasn't bleeding or anything. She was dressed (or more aptly costumed) in a pair of khaki shorts and an overly large tan short-sleeved shirt. It was topped off by a tan pith helmet, which was several sizes too big for her head. Cindy didn't know that the little pigtailed five year old before her was no longer wearing the dress that she had donned that morning. "What are you doing?"

The bearess looked upwards at the older girl and smiled while replying, "Looking for treasure!" She clamped her hand over her muzzle, let it go, and repeated more softly, "Looking for treasure."

"Treasure? Here on the street?" The ponytailed blonde didn't bother to rein in the scorn from her voice. 'Little kids,' she sighed to herself. 'I do owe her though.'

"Well, I found a _piece of eight_! Lookie!" The youngster dug into a pocket and after moment of fishing around, she pulled out a shiny five-cent piece.

"That's just a nickel," the older child corrected wryly.

"Yeah if I find nineteen more, I'll have a dollar," Rebecca declared seriously. She put the nickel back in the pocket of her shorts and then leaning in closer said seriously, "I'm looking for something else too!"

"Oh?"

The little brunette nodded conspiratorially and whispered, "It's a machine that'll make you get bigger!"

"Bigger?" Cindy questioned. "Like a giant?"

"No... A grownup," Rebecca corrected with a grin. "I used to be big but those stupid Air Pirates..." She screwed up her face in a pout and stomped a little foot. "Attacked me and made me little." She then realized she said too much. "Don't tell anyone. It's a secret."

'A machine that will...' the blonde lynx shook her head, 'Oh if it was only true, I could be sixteen!' This kid reminded her of her own little sister who also occasionally had quite the imagination. She was sometimes annoying but a good kid although Cindy wouldn't admit that to her. "I'm Cindy by the way."

"I'm Becky!" Rebecca replied while holding out her hand. She shook the older girl's paw and gave her a big smile. "Wanna help me hunt for nick... I mean pieces of eight? We can split it... sixty/forty."

"Sixty/forty?"

"Well yeah, Cindy, I thought of the idea," Rebecca commented proudly. An approaching shout attracted the two girls' attention. "Uh oh..."

Kit came pelting up to the duo and bent over holding his knees as he tried to regain his wind. "Jeez... There you are," he panted out. "I've been looking all over for you!"

"Your big brother?" Cindy assumed. 'He's sorta cute... Wait... I've seen him before... but where?'

Rebecca blushed. "Nah, he's my boyfriend!" Although part of her liked the thought of a big brother.

"I am not!" Kit nearly shouted, attracting the attention of passersby.

"Sure, you are," Rebecca countered logically. "You ARE a boy and you ARE my friend, right?" She regarded Kit with big brown eyes and an innocent smile of happiness.

"She's got you there," the petite lynx giggled. 'I have GOT to remember that look. That might come in handy.' Kit's head whipped around to regard Rebecca's giggling new friend. She looked to be about his age and was quite cute. Then he recognized the girl and started to blush. She was in the same grade but a different class at his school. "Hi there. I'm Cindy Parker."

"Oh I know... I mean hi... I'm Kit Cloudkicker."

Recognition washed across her face. "Kit... Oh, I thought I remembered you. Teddy's told me all about you. You're one of those _Jungle Aces_, right?"

'She was talking to Teddy?' Kit worried, 'Oh man, what did that jerk tell her?' Teddy was his main rival when it came to sports at school and they didn't really get along. The thought of his rival telling tales to a pretty girl - even if he really wasn't into girls - was horrifying.

"Are you okay, Kit?" Rebecca interjected. Both the bigger kids seemed to be ignoring her.

"Huh? Oh yeah..." Shaking himself, he declared, "Cindy, thanks for finding Becky."

"I wasn't lost!" the five year old bearess complained.

"Not a problem, Kit. I have a little sister too." She winked. "Maybe we can get together for a soda sometime and compare notes." Little Rebecca growled but since she was likely in trouble for running off, she didn't want to compound matters.

The thrill of Kit taking her hand vanished as he ranted, "You just wait until I tell Baloo what you did, young lady."

# # # # #

'Man-oh-man,' Baloo Bear mused as he rode the elevator up to the floor on which Kahn's office occupied. The elevator operator stood silently in a red uniform decked out with two rows of gold buttons. His hand was firmly on the lever controlling the car's ascent.

'This has been one LONG day!' He glanced down at the remaining occupant in the elevator car. The five year old was shifting nervously from foot to foot. 'I wonder what she was up to today... It can't be any worse than Molly though.' Baloo shook his head. 'How Rebecca Cunningham ever produced a kid like Molly, I'll never know. The kid's like Karnage without breaks or a throttle!'

The thought of six year old Molly dressed up as a swashbuckling Air Pirate captain temporarily cheered the bear up somewhat and he chuckled. Little Becky turned her face up to regard him. "What's so funny, Uncle Baloo?"

"Nothing pumpkin. Let's just hope this don't take long and I ken get both of us back home."

"We can leave now," Rebecca suggested apprehensively. She hoped the elevator operator would take her suggestion to heart and switch directions.

"No first, you can apologize to Shere Kahn for the way you acted last time. 'Sides, he did ask to see both of us after supper."

"But it's past my bedtime, Uncle Baloo," the child pointed out hopefully. 'I don't want to see that scary tiger!' She wasn't lying though. Her anxiety at that prospect was the only thing keeping her awake. She knew he deserved the apology. 'Why was I so mean to Mr. Kahn before? I acted worse than Molly.'

"Don't worry, kid. I doubt Ol' Kahny will keep us long," Baloo assured her. He then lifted the pigtailed five year old up and hugged her for a moment. "Now just say you're sorry, just be polite if he asks you something, and we'll be done in no time."

"'K-Kay, Uncle Baloo," Rebecca agreed. That was sound advice but did little to assuage her nerves. She absently plucked at the hem of her dress. She was back in the dress she'd been wearing that morning. 'At least Kit didn't tattle on me... That was really nice of him...' She considered the girl (Cindy) who'd she met earlier that day. 'Did Kit like her?' She pondered that for a moment while tapping her lower lip. 'Nah... If he liked her, he'd talk to her. Kit was just acting goofy.' She smiled and giggled.

Baloo was glad to see that Rebecca's nervousness had diminished, although it didn't help his. 'What does Kahn want? Did he find the machine?' Those and other questions swirled around the pilot's head as the elevator stopped.

"Mr. Kahn's floor, sir," the elevator operator announced and opened the doors.

"Ah Baloo," was Shere Kahn's greeting as soon as Baloo had cleared the threshold. "And young Miss Cunningham. You're right on time." The well-dressed tiger turned to a woman on his right. "Allow me to introduce Amelia McCoy. I thought perhaps we'd leave the little one out here with Ms. McCoy while we discuss business."

Amelia was a panther in her early thirties. She was dressed in a gray pantsuit and wore her light brown hair loosely about her shoulders.

"Suits me," Baloo agreed while standing Rebecca on her feet. The little bearess tried to retreat behind Baloo but he had a firm hand on her back so she had to face Shere Kahn. "Don't you have something to say first, Rebecca?"

"M-Mr. Kahn, I-I is sorry I was rude before," Rebecca squeaked out. 'Maybe he won't eat me if I'm nice!'

Shere Kahn's only reaction for a moment or so was to quirk his right eyebrow. "Thank you for apologizing, young lady. I'm glad to see your '_uncle_' has discussed your earlier behavior." He turned to the woman beside him. "Ms. McCoy, if you would?"

"Certainly, Mr. Kahn," the thirty-something panther agreed. She walked over, knelt down, smiled, and held her paw out toward Rebecca. Rebecca immediately took the offered paw. She was much happier to go with the nice lady versus that scary man. Amelia stood up. "Come along... Becky is it?" The kid nodded. "Becky, let's find something for you to play with inside the nice box I have over there."

As the two females went off to one corner of the outer office, Baloo followed Shere Kahn into his inner office. The tiger settled himself behind his large desk and placed his paws together. "It appears that the little one is much calmer now, Baloo."

"Yeah, Kahn, but that doohickey of Zivaldo's has her thinking she's really five," Baloo commented, "We gotta find it so Zivaldo can change Becky back and soon."

"Oh? So you feel that Dr. Zivaldo would _not_ be able to develop a machine to reverse the effects of the one you lost to the Air Pirates?"

Baloo frowned but after a moment, he answered, "Well yeah, if it's anything like his shrinking machine, he didn't believe that '_enlarging_' things could happen until Kit helped him reverse the process. He said as much when she came by to see Becky."

"Interesting... So Mr. Cloudkicker assisted Dr. Zivaldo in the past?" Kahn asked blandly.

"Yeah but I'm not sure what he did exactly... I was kinda busy at the time outrunning a giant rat." Kahn leant back in his chair as Baloo rubbed at his face for a moment. "We need that machine back pronto."

"And Don Karnage has it," Kahn said unnecessarily. 'Karnage has made me a new offer but if I can get it back without paying...'

"Well... if Karnage has kept the gizmo on the Iron Vulture, then it'll be pretty hard to get it back. She's not exactly easy to sneak up on with the Seaduck. Not to mention all those guns." Crossing his arms, he asked, "Now why exactly did you call me up here, Kahn?"

The tiger only raised an eyebrow for a moment but smiled mentally. 'Always the blunt one... No subtly.' He allowed the silence to stretch for a few seconds before speaking again. 'I need to give the good doctor time.'

# # # # #

While Shere Kahn and Baloo were talking, Don Karnage was conducting a meeting of his own although his meeting was being run with a lot more emotion. The Air Pirate Captain paced about the bridge of his great airship pausing occasionally to scowl at one of his crew.

'Idiots! I take a detail to a supply cache for half an hour and what happens?' the wolf raged silently as he stalked about the bridge, 'Someone is attacking my ship!' He bared his teeth.

After a moment, he moved closer to Maddog, who was heavily bandaged, and requested in a deceptively pleasant tone, "Now, Maddog, you will be telling me what happened, yes/no?"

Maddog shifted uneasily, or tried to at least. "It was horrible, Capt'n," he whined in his nasally voice. "They came out of nowhere!"

"Yeah, Captain, there were thousands of them!" Dumptruck chimed in. His typical headgear was not settled properly due to the massive lump on the top of his head.

"And, do you happen to be knowing who '_they_' were?" Don Karnage asked again ferally. Gibber decided to make a comment at that moment and whispered something into his captain's ear. The wolf captain straightened and shouted, "They were _not_ Santa's elves! Do you be seeing reindeer droppings and hoof-ity prints?" He looked around and then spat. "NO! I am seeing bullet holes and burn marks!" He rounded back on his crew. "Now, Maddog, I left you in charge while I left to gather certain things from one of our supply dumps. So tell me..." He drew his cutlass and placed its tip provocatively under Maddog's chin. "Who were they?"

"We don't know!" Maddog shouted. "Honest, Capt'n, we don't! We were flying along like you said waiting for you to get back and then all of a sudden we were under attack."

"It had to be some government," Dumptruck commented.

"I don't think so, Captain," Hal, a large tan cat, offered, "When we were coming back, the damage looked too precise. Whoever they were, they wanted to cripple but not destroy the Iron Vulture. I can't see any government doing that." He paused and considered for a moment. "Well maybe the Thembrians but we've never had any dealings with them." He shrugged. "What did they look like?"

"They all had the same type of uniform. Not like any I've seen before..." another of the pirates put in, "And strong... One of them tossed Hacksaw down a ladder like a ragdoll." That produced a moment of silence. "They asked about that gizmo you got from Shere Kahn."

'Sounds like a mercenary force. Who would...' "Ah... so the tiger is trying to steal from the stealer! Well I, the magnificent Don Karnage, will not be permitting such a thing to happen!" He relaxed from his dramatic pose and then frowned at Maddog. Fortunately for the scraggily hound, Karnage replaced his cutlass back in his belt. "So these ruffians came and tried to get you to talk?"

"Well yeah, Capt'n," Maddog whined.

"And what did you tell them?" Karnage demanded.

"I told 'em that the machine ain't on the Iron Vulture no more."

"Yeah, and that we hid it at our base," Dumptruck put in, making his nearly constant companion wince, but not from his wounds.

"I should hang you both up by your pinkies for your stupidity," the wolf hissed. "And did you happen to be telling them where our base is?" He already knew the answer but it paid to be careful. Only a very select few Air Pirates were privy to the _exact_ location of their secret base.

"Uh... they didn't believe that I didn't know, Capt'n," Maddog complained. 'The Captain don't trust me to know...'

"Yeah," Dumptruck put in.

"Why did they leave?" Jock wondered. "It's not like you put up much of a fight."

"That is a good question, Scotty. So tell me... Who drove them off?" Don Karnage did not like the look that passed between his two lieutenants.

# # # # #

While Don Karnage continued the interrogation of his motley crew of cutthroats, Baloo was riding the elevator down to the lobby carrying a sleepy Rebecca Cunningham in his arms. He left Shere Kahn staring out his office window.

"Well Doctor?" the tiger asked the woman entering his office.

Dr. Amelia McCoy folded her hands behind her back and cocked her head slightly to the left as she regarded the wealthy businessman. She was the most preeminent child psychiatrist in all of Cape Suzette. "My professional opinion as a psychiatrist, Mr. Kahn, is that Rebecca Cunningham is a very healthy and happy five year old child. She's definitely precocious but not extraordinarily so."

"I see..." Kahn said neutrally. 'My suspicions are confirmed. That will be one issue that Kahn Industries will have to address. Clients want to be young but not have the mental impediments that go with it.' "Please continue..."

"Rebecca shows quite an imagination," the doctor supplied. "She is well adjusted, polite, and somewhat shy child. More structured and longer sessions would be required to determine if there are any hidden neuroses or psychoses, which should be treated. Certainly, none were evident on the surface."

"I understand, Doctor. At the time of our first meeting, she seemed insightful almost _adult-like_. Perhaps, I was mistaken."

"It depends on the environment, Mr. Kahn," the psychologist explained. "I believe I observed the same thing. I understand she recently came to live with her uncle who is a widower. And her cousin, his six year old daughter. Rebecca certainly has a breadth and depth of knowledge well above the norm. She is likely a gifted child, but further testing is required. Her attention span is limited and falls within norms for a child that age. I agree with Dr. Pierce's recommendation to start her in kindergarten and then decide whether and when to place her in a more challenging learning environment." She pulled herself up short and added, "Mr. Kahn, you'll have my full written report and recommendations as soon as I can write it up." 'I hope he'll let me study her.'

"Very well, Dr. McCoy. You may go," Kahn requested and turned his attention back to the city he considered his.

Coming next in **Chapter 10 "A Reflection of Me"**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


	10. Chapter 10 A Reflection of Me

**A Little Becky Will Do**  
By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "_A Little Becky Will Do_" are copyrighted ©2009-2010 by Will Wolfshohl and Douglas Helm.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website. The **complete **story is available on ShoujoFiction as of 9/4/2010.

**Chapter 10 "A Reflection of Me"**

**W**hile early morning sunlight filtered in through the windows of Higher for Hire, Baloo stood outside the office door, coffee mug in hand, watching some dock workers go about their morning's work. The gray bear glanced to his left and slightly behind him as he sensed someone come up beside him. "Morning, Kit."

"Morning, Papa Bear," his protégé greeted, "What's up?"

"Not much," Baloo opined, "Just watching the ships." He gestured with his mug toward the big freighters and tankers that crowded the Cape Suzette harbor. He took a sip of his coffee, and then remarked, "Fine weather for flyin'. Not a cloud in the sky."

"Maybe... we could find some clouds?" Kit speculated, a wistful look on his face. When Baloo chuckled, the young man turned his gaze to his mentor.

"Maybe," the older bear said. 'I better let him or he might just burst at the seams!' "Maybe we'll take the girls with us and then swing by Louie's."

"So what happened with Shere Kahn last night, Baloo?" the young bear asked.

"Not much really, Li'l Britches," Baloo answered with a shrug. He turned and led the way back inside. He crossed the office and entered the kitchen where Molly still dressed in her pajamas was already eating breakfast. "Kahn just wanted to know whether we had gotten his gizmo back."

"Then why did he wanna see Mom... I mean _Becky_, Baloo?" Molly interjected around the jam-covered piece of toast that she was biting into. Sitting down, Baloo grabbed a piece of toast for himself and spread some strawberry jam on it. Kit followed suit and then headed to the cupboard to get a bowl for some cereal.

"That's the funny part, Pigtails," the big pilot explained. "He didn't say more than ten words to your mom." He frowned momentarily as he bit into his toast. "'Course that don't mean nothing. Kahn just doesn't do anything willy-nilly. Everything is planned out."

"Got that right," Kit agreed while pouring some cereal in his bowl. "Maybe he just wanted to see how she was getting by?"

"Maybe..." Baloo considered for several moments while Kit brought his cereal to the kitchen table and sat down. After finishing his slice of toast, the big bear continued, "There was a lady there who kept Beckers occupied while me and Kahn talked. Seemed nice enough. Maybe she was a teacher or somethin'." He shrugged. "Speaking of Becky... Where is she?"

"Asleep," Molly replied and then gave Baloo a serious look, "Baloo, when ARE you gonna get my mommy back?"

"We're working on it, kid," Baloo assured her.

"You ARE going to get her back, right?" the golden-furred cub prodded.

The big bear paused in spreading jam on his third piece of toast to frown at little girl for a moment. "We are gonna get your mom back as soon as we can, Molly. That I promise you."

Kit swallowed the mouthful of cereal he'd been eating and offered, "It's like that shrinking ray, Molly. We need to get it back so we can get Dr. Zivaldo to reverse the effects."

"But the pirates have it," she pointed out.

"Yeah, that is a problem. They aren't just going to give it back to us if we show up and ask nicely for it," the preteen remarked.

"So what ARE you gonna do? I don't like this game anymore." She wanted a reassuring hug at this point but she was a "_big girl_", so she wasn't about to ask for one.

'Poor kid.' Dropping his toast onto his plate, Baloo started ticking points off. "First, Pigtails, we're going to find out where the Iron Vulture is and then come up with a plan to get the machine back." He mentally added, 'If we can... It'd be easier if they dropped it on some island but even then, moving that thing will be difficult, not to mention the guards. We'll need time alone with it.' From his talk last night, it was obvious that Shere Kahn was having no luck in retrieving the machine even with the vast resources at his disposal. As always though, the tiger's intentions were hard to gauge.

Molly looked unhappy but didn't say anything. 'I want Mommy back!' the golden-furred cub whined. Tears were beginning to enter her eyes. It had been fun at first to be older than her mother and let her see what it was like to be treated like a baby. But it wasn't all fun and games. Baloo seemed to think that Molly should be the more responsible one since she was the older girl. 'Mommy doesn't even remember being Mommy anymore!' Molly worried grumpily. ''_Becky_' wants me to be her big sister. **I want Mommy, not a little sister!**'

And while she adored Baloo, he was turning out to be far stricter parent than her mother had been; something Molly didn't appreciate in the least. For one thing, Baloo had a very definite idea of when little girls should be in bed. The problem was that his time was much earlier than she normally went to bed. Baloo also didn't put up with as much nonsense as her mother did. She definitely did not relish him becoming her father permanently.

There was another issue tormenting the six year old cub. 'What's going on with Mommy and Kit?' Almost since she first met Baloo and Kit, she assumed that Baloo was destined to be her mommy's boyfriend - and that was just fine with her. '**But Kit's supposed to be MY boyfriend!**' In her opinion, she was in danger of losing him to her mother. Kit always seemed to side with "_Becky_", which the golden-furred cub couldn't stand. She could glean no other reason for Kit to side with the five year old other than she was just littler than she was.

However, that wasn't the case at all. Molly didn't realize was that Kit had the vague idea that his boss might remember her treatment after she regained her adulthood. Had she, she might have mollified her behavior towards her mother. Kit wanted to project responsibility and integrity in her mind. To see him as a young man, not a boy. Baloo had begun giving him proper flying lessons and he would need her support (as the owner of Higher for Hire) to continue them. He didn't want to consider the alternative of having two little girls aggressively vying for his affections for the foreseeable future. Molly was trouble enough by herself in his opinion. Not to mention, all the babysitting he would have to do would damage his reputation.

"Really?" Kit asked, drawing Molly out of her brooding thoughts.

"Sure, it'll give Wildcat a break and we can have some fun along the way. Also, we can let you get some flying in and maybe some cloudsurfing." Baloo grinned.

"I cloudsurf too!" Molly piped up, hoping not to be left behind.

Baloo shook his head. "That would be a treat and I don't think either you or Rebecca has earned that sort of thing." The large bear ignored the sulky look Molly gave him. "Anywho if we're going, I better go wake up sleepyhead so she can get some breakfast and get dressed."

"Right. I'll get started planning out our route!" the young navigator declared with a grin. 'I'll just make sure it's nice and long...'

# # # # #

While Baloo was rousing little Rebecca from a warm bed and a nice dream involving Kit and chocolate, Don Karnage, the _feared_ Air Pirate captain, was sitting at the chart table on the bridge of the Iron Vulture. The wolf was busily composing a note. In the simplest of terms, the message was merely a counter to Kahn's latest ransom offer to get his equipment back intact. It was the latest round of their negotiations. 'Should I play hardball or lower it a bit?' The amount was still too low in Karnage's opinion but starting to get more palatable.

Of course, Karnage did not believe in writing such plebian things and sought to make the ransom demand a work of art. Unfortunately, this tendency to spend long minutes on written communications made most of the crew think that their captain was not as brilliant as he espoused. Unbeknownst to his men, Don Karnage was actually quite well-read. He actually had too much source material to draw from for his flourishes.

"Gibber!" Karnage called from his chair on the bridge of his airship. Almost instantly, the Air Pirate's chief spy appeared. "I want you to be sending a message to that thief Kahn!" Don Karnage commanded, "Here is the amount that I want him to be paying if he wants to see his machine back!" He cackled evilly. He had already decided that he would not keep the machine for himself. It was far too dangerous.

Gibber leaned in close and whispered something after reading the note. The wolf cocked his head and frowned. His henchman whispered a little more. "That is a wonderful idea! I am such a genius. Thank you for reminding me I had thought about it!" he chortled. He snatched the slip of paper back from Gibber. He then scrawled an addendum to the note and affixed another amount. "Let that cowardly tiger pay for the damage his men did to my ship!" The Air Pirate Captain signed the note with a flourish and then handed it back. "There, Gibber. Now see that Kahn understands that if he wants to see his machine again, he will pay my price!"

Despite his outward confidence, Don Karnage was feeling less than certain inside. 'Kahn is not playing this time... but why? We have always had good business dealings. And is it true?' According to his men, the mercenaries that Kahn hired only ran away because they thought the Cape Suzette Air Force was headed their way. The wolf scowled in thought. 'If that is being true, why is the government coming after us when it didn't before?' That bothered him.

It was true that Cape Suzette (and other governments) offered rewards for the capture of him and his crew. But rarely were any large forces sent after him. Don Karnage didn't like big military forces that could do things not only to his Iron Vulture but also to himself. Luckily for him, such forces were expensive, difficult to maintain long in the field, and had better things to do. Moreover, his intelligence network and expertise in tactics and evasion nearly always kept him out of harm's way yet allowed him to plunder profitable targets with minimal risk. The wolf admitted only to himself that his criminal activities were more of an annoyance than a true threat to world governments or corporations. In fact, he sometimes allowed his Air Pirates to be used for certain "_activities_" that might cause a government embarrassment if it were known. So there was a _balance_. If the balance was lost because of this one machine... 'I must get the machine off my hands.' The tricky part was doing it so that he could save face in front of his men.

Standing, he said, "Scotty, steady on course. I will go and see if those nitwits have nitwitted themselves into inaction!"

Jock sighed, not even bothering to correct his captain. "Aye, steady as she goes." 'He's gettin' loopier every week,' the helmsman decided.

# # # # #

The mid-morning sun shown down on the tiny figure being pulled along by the yellow seaplane. The cold crisp air rushed past Kit Cloudkicker as he dipped and weaved, expertly guiding his airfoil through a set of motions to carve an elegant swath through the puffy white clouds seemingly mere fractions of an inch beneath his feet.

'I'm out of practice,' the preteen thought, 'Maybe after me and Baloo fix Becky up, we can go on a real vacation. Just us guys... Definitely, no girls allow!' That thought brought a smile to his lips. 'Maybe I could invite Cindy to watch...' He felt his face heating up and he shook his head. 'What am I thinking?'

The young bear considered whether to try something dangerous and then decided against it. If it had been only him and Baloo, he wouldn't have hesitated. 'But if I do it with Molly and Becky watching me, they'll want to do it too.' Both had made it clear they expected to be taken for a ride soon; thankfully Baloo wasn't convinced they had earned such a treat so he had some breathing room. Bobbing to his left so Baloo could see him, he signaled that he wanted to come in. Seconds later, he felt the towrope slowly begin reeling him into the plane.

"RAMP CLOSED!" he shouted to Baloo after the rear ramp of the Seaduck had closed behind him. Almost instantly, two little and extremely excited girls came rushing out of the cockpit and glommed onto him nearly bowling him over.

"That was so awesome!" Molly declared. She was dressed in her typical everyday wear, i.e. blue overalls.

"Yeah, Kit, it was _super_ awesome!" the younger Cunningham agreed jumping up and down. She was dressed in a set of pink shorts and a T-shirt. The five year old hadn't been happy that Baloo had decided on the outfit - a more practical outfit for a cargo run her uncle had said. Rebecca had complained about it until Kit had said he liked it. That had earned him a scowl from the elder girl but a sunny smile from Rebecca.

"Thanks, girls. That was just basic stuff." He tried to sound humble.

"Kit, when are you taking me out?" Rebecca asked. "You promised."

"Me too!" the golden-furred cub piped in.

"Later... maybe... BUT no promises!" Kit answered. "I need to rest my arms." Rebecca and Molly frowned. He started forward but each girl clamped onto an arm. Thankfully, they didn't try to go through the doorway with him and he managed to make to his seat and hangers on.

"Buckle up, ladies," Baloo told them. "We're coming in to our last cargo stop for today and then we can head to Louie's for a late lunch before we head back home." They let go and went back to their seat as told. The pilot looked towards his navigator. "Think you're up to another landing, Li'l Britches?"

"Sure!" Kit chirped with a grin.

"Now this'll be a little trickier than the last one. We got a ten knot crosswind out of the southeast."

"How can you tell, Baloo? There's no windsock?" Kit wondered impressed.

"See that tall grass beside the field?" his mentor asked, using his right paw to point at the indicated direction.

"Yeah."

"Well, I know which way we're flying, and the grass is generally bending northwest. Now a steady crosswind ain't too bad but we're getting gusts." Baloo smiled. "I can also feel the wind hitting the 'Duck. If you know your plane well enough, kid, you can tell all sorts of things."

"You can do it, Kit!" Rebecca gushed from her seat behind the pair. Neither male saw the scowl Molly was giving her young mother. The six year old was a little put out that she hadn't been the one to offer her boyfriend encouragement first.

"Thanks," the preteen said as he took the control of the Seaduck.

"When I grow up, I wanna be a pilot too!" Rebecca declared before asking, "Will you teach me to fly too, Uncle Baloo?"

"You already have flown, sweetie," Baloo reminded her, "Remember?" When a response didn't immediately come, he turned and found the five year old with her face screwed up in concentration. "Becky?"

"I think I 'member..." The frown lines deepened on the little girl's forehead. "Was it winter time? I remember snow and stuff..."

Baloo shot Kit a look and then gave Rebecca a radiant smile. "That's right!" The little girl beamed.

"**I flew on the Snowduck!**" Molly stated loudly, not wanting to be left out.

"Really, Big Sis?" Rebecca asked, her eyes wide, "When?" She didn't miss the suddenly nervous look Baloo got.

'She would bring that up! I just hope Beckers forgets that or she'll skin me alive!' the big pilot hoped and then returned his attention to the young man beside him. "That's good, Kit. Now I'll work the throttles. You just concentrate on keeping us straight and level."

# # # # #

Louie's Place was renowned for the parties that it hosted. Most of the time the parties were planned for, it was the unplanned parties that tended to cause its owner problems. Louie let out a moan as he tossed yet another broken chair into a depressingly large pile of damaged goods.

'Man oh man,' the orangutan thought, 'I don't mind the profits but the expenses...' He looked distastefully at the pile of damaged goods. 'I'm just glad whoever hired those guys is covering my costs!' He glanced up at the sound of a plane approaching. His other staff members stiffened some looking as if they were about to bolt. Several seconds passed before Louie could make out the plane through his binoculars. "Baloo!" he declared with relief obvious in his voice. 'He'll be mad he missed that party last night.' Louie considered that. 'I just don't know if that's a good thing or not...'

Shaking his head, Louie went in to alert his kitchen staff - when Baloo showed up, he was normally hungry. After getting the cooks ready, the orangutan settled himself behind the bar and waited. He didn't have long to wait but was a little startled when two children came bursting through the doors, not Baloo.

"Now just hold your horses, girls!" Baloo's shout floated in from outside. The big bear sounded both amused and exasperated.

Louie stared at the two children who rushed up to claim stools at the bar. One, he recognized immediately. "Hi Molly."

"Hi Louie!" Molly greeted with a big grin on her face, "I want a _Krakatau Special_ please!" Her big blue eyes sparkled in anticipation.

"Me too!" Molly's younger companion seconded with a large grin on her face.

"Rebecca?" Louie guessed while reaching up to remove his hat.

"Becky!" Rebecca corrected.

Louie scratched his head and regarded the cute little brunette with big brown eyes carefully. 'She can't be more than four.' The child definitely shared traits with the adult businesswoman he knew. 'I know Baloo told me but I thought he was pullin' my leg! Why do these things happen to them?' The ape mentally shrugged, replaced his hat with his foot, and asked, "Well now, Becky, how old are you?"

"Five!" Becky squeaked. She held up all five fingers.

"We're _pretending_, Louie," Molly said in a stage-whisper, "Shere Kahn wants us to or something stupid like that."

"Don't be mean, Big Sis," Rebecca scolded causing Molly to wince.

"Whose being mean?" Baloo questioned. The trio turned to find the large bear coming into the main room; Kit trailed behind him.

"What's you do, what's you say, fuzzy?"

"Not much, Louie, just stopped for lunch and some gas." The gray bear pointedly looked at the two little girls. "Which will NOT consist of only ice cream."

"But Ba-Daddy!" Molly protested.

"Please, Uncle Baloo?" Rebecca pleaded. Their titles for his longtime friend made Louie's eyebrows sweep upwards in surprise.

"We'll see how you do with your lunch first. Growing girls need their vitamins so you'll finish everything on your plate first," Baloo announced. The thought of food made his stomach grumble. "And the '_Big Guy_' says it's definitely that time."

"Hey Louie," Kit greeted as he slipped onto a barstool on the other side of Baloo. Both girls gave their presumptive boyfriend a disappointed look but it didn't last long.

"Hi Kit. What's it like having two beautiful young ladies around?" Louie asked the young man. "I bet they keep you hopping." He gave the cub a knowing wink.

"You could say that," Kit said without going into detail.

"Well, Baloo, whatcha want for lunch?" 'My staff's prepared... I hope.'

His friend grinned. "Well, barkeep, we'll get Molly and Becky settled first, then Kit, and then we'll can take care of me."

Louie blinked. 'Baloo? Being mature? The world IS coming to an end!'

# # # # #

While Louie was taking Baloo's lunch order, Shere Kahn was reading a short note. 'I'm very pleased the Colonel's men enjoyed the party last night. They may still be needed.' The tiger smiled slightly. 'Baloo should be stopping by Louie's... who will likely tell him about the party. If that doesn't get that bulbous bear moving... I can think of some other ways.'

# # # # #

About an hour later, Baloo was leaning back against the bar while he watched Molly, Rebecca, and Kit eat their way through Krakatau Specials at a nearby table. Molly and Rebecca had initially protested about sharing one of the massive ice cream treats. That was until Baloo said it was the only way they'd get one. The large bear was still surprised at Rebecca's appetite for such a small body. She definitely didn't eat that much as an adult.

'And I knew Kit had a sweet tooth but he was just as anxious to get one as the girls!' That brought a smile to his face. Turning his head slightly, he observed, "Looks like there was some soiree here last night, barkeep."

"It was a bit impromptu, cuz," the ape said sourly, "Or I would've told you about it."

"No worries, Louie. Couldn't have made it no ways. Not with deliveries today, not to mention Becky and Molly."

"You? Miss a party?" Louie questioned. "Fuzzy, what's going on? I know Becky's little now but you'll get her set right in no time."

Baloo turned fully and eased himself onto a barstool. "If I knew that fer sure, it wouldn't matter but I don't." The big pilot shook his head. "If it's like what happened to Molly and that silly machine of Zivaldo's, we'll need the doohickey that zapped Beckers before we can do anything." He grimaced and glanced at the three children. "Problem is them pirates have the machine."

"Pirates?" Louie prodded. "How do they figure into this?" Baloo had only briefly sketched the story out. Now that they were the only ones present at Louie's and had more time, perhaps the gray bear would be willing to elaborate.

"Well, let's see... It all started a few days ago with a cargo run for Kahn," Baloo began. As he continued his tale, Louie's face took on a myriad of expressions. When he was done with their escape from the Iron Vulture, his longtime friend could only shake his head.

"Cuz, we've gotten caught in some wild scrapes in our time but that has to be the wildest!"

"No kidding, Louie," Baloo agreed. He interlaced his fingers and stared down at the bar counter. "I just can't hope that we'll get the machine back. If we don't, I'll have to be ready to raise them." 'I owe it to them.' The pilot glanced back over at the table as the two girls started to giggle at something. He felt a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he saw Kit's muzzle covered in ice cream. 'What is that boy up to?' Turning back to Louie, he admitted wistfully, "Sometimes... sometimes Becky reminds me of my baby."

Louie's eyes widened slightly. "She's not," the orangutan pointed out gently, quietly.

"I know, Louie," Baloo responded with equal softness, "But sometimes..." He shrugged. "Anyways, I just couldn't up and leave 'em. Maybe if this had happened when I first met them... but they're my family now." Her friend nodded. The large bear shrugged again. "Well, I might catch a break and find out where them pirates have that machine before it's too late."

Louie blinked and then grinned slightly. "I think you did, fuzzy."

"What?"

"Last night... That party..." He made a sour face at the memory, "It was a bunch of mercs blowing off steam after a raid. At first, they didn't say anything but as the night went on, their lips got a little looser." Louie glanced around and then leaned in closer to Baloo. "Apparently, they were hired to look for something on the Vulture."

"The Vulture?" Baloo queried, "As in the Iron Vulture?"

"Yeah," the ape agreed. "Now listen here, Baloo. I don't know if it's the machine you're looking for or not but apparently, it wasn't on Karnage's airship. Some of them were really grumpy with the pirates and wished they'd been allowed to slit some throats."

Baloo folded his arms and frowned. "I don't suppose they said who hired them?"

"Who has enough money to hire mercenaries and then send them after the Air Pirates?" Louie offered.

"Kahn," the bear grumbled the obvious answer. "I knew that mangy tiger was up to no good. He called me and Beckers into his office last night. He said to see how Becky was but he was awful interested in Pirate Island."

"So the tiger sends out the mercs, they don't find anything, and so he tries to pump you for info so he can send them after it again?" the bar owner speculated.

"Exactly," Baloo agreed. After a moment, he suddenly smiled, "Things just got the tiniest bit easier, my friend."

# # # # #

While Baloo and Louie were talking, Shere Kahn was sitting in his office conducting a meeting of his own. The businessman sat in his comfortable high-backed chair tapping slightly with the fingers of his right paw. Before him stood two people. One was Zivaldo's chief assistant; the other was a panther, a rather short and scraggly-looking fellow. Despite that, he was dressed in a business suit, not as nicely tailored as Kahn's but still serviceable. Kahn had wanted a "_non-entity_" to do a little quiet work and this fellow happened to be available for the job.

"Report," Kahn requested of the panther while making his fingers still their drumming.

"Sir, the homing device is ready to be planted." The panther looked nervous but his tone didn't show it.

"So that means that you have not been able to ascertain the exact location of Pirate Island?" Kahn asked neutrally.

"No, Mr. Kahn. Don Karnage has always had exceptional security where his secret base is concerned. Also, we did not locate any charts showing it at the address you gave us."

"Disappointing... Thank you. You may go." The panther nodded, turned, and walked out of the office. Kahn waited until the door was closed. "How is Dr. Zivaldo?"

The tigress' face was marred by the smallest of frowns before her features smoothed into professional neutrality. "He claims that any device to progress a person in age is impossible." She considered for a moment. "Mr. Kahn, I believe that he adamantly holds to this position because he didn't come up with the idea himself."

"Do you have any evidence to support this belief?" Kahn asked her.

"Yes sir. In questioning the doctor regarding Cloudkicker, it appears there was an incident involving a shrinking ray some months ago. Dr. Zivaldo claimed that the effects could not be reversed but the kid somehow convinced him that an enlarging machine was possible and together they were able to modify the machine. Unfortunately, that machine was destroyed during its last use."

Kahn steepled his fingers together in front of him as he considered that information. 'A shrinking ray? I do believe the good doctor has been holding out on us. ' He had not heard about that invention. After several seconds, he lowered his hands and nodded. "It appears that Dr. Zivaldo's activities bear closer inspection. Please see to it that a discrete inventory is done of everything he is working on."

"Yes, Mr. Kahn," the putative scientist assistant replied. "What if the kid attempts to contact Dr. Zivaldo?"

"Permit it. If the young man can get us what we want..."

"Understood sir," the tigress agreed.

"You may go," Kahn replied and with a dismissive gesture. He returned to stare out over the City of Cape Suzette.

# # # # #

Don Karnage stood before his mirror in his cabin aboard the Iron Vulture. Late afternoon sunlight poured through the large windows, providing, what the Air Pirate considered, exquisite lighting for his wonderful self.

"Ah... You are a marvelous and dashing fellow! Yes/no?" he asked his reflection. "Such a handsome, and yet imposing figure. Something to make the men quiver in fear and the ladies..." A knock at his cabin door interrupted his self-aggrandizing monologue.

The flamboyant wolf frowned at his cabin door. The frown deepened as the knock sounded again. "Capt'n?" It was Maddog's reedy whine.

"You had better be having the good reason to be disturbing me. I am thinking!" Don Karnage snarled while stomping over to the door and opening it. "What is it?"

"Capt'n, Gibber's come back," his whiny subordinate informed him.

"Ah... Well then, I shall go see what that mangy tiger has said for himself! Out of my way!" He pushed past the pathetic dog, strode down the corridor, stopped, and came back. He pointedly locked his cabin door and glared at Maddog until the morose pirate slouched away. Grumbling about untrustworthy souls, the Air Pirate Captain stomped down the passageway and up the ladder.

Upon reaching the bridge of his airship, he immediately spotted Gibber. Crossing over to the spymaster, he asked. "Now, Gibber, you are having a message for me?" Gibber nodded and held out an envelope. Taking it, Karnage opened the envelope and pulled out the sheet of paper it contained. 'Hmmm... That tricky tiger says I should bill the mercenaries for the damage?' He started to crumple the paper and then stopped himself. 'Ah, so Kahn makes a counteroffer... Better... 'Though not as much as I would like.'

Don Karnage considered for several seconds and then nodded to himself. "Well done, Gibber! You have proven yourself as one of my loyal men." He strode over to the chart table and checked their current position. He then considered the charts for several moments. He then looked back at mumbling cohort. "Go and rest, my loyal minion, for I will have a counteroffer to his counteroffer."

The Captain turned back to the charts. He regarded them and the note as he thought, 'So he wants me to drop the machine off here and then, he'll send the payment in gold bullion within twelve hours by special courier... Well, I will not be moving it myself. For he is likely planning on sending those mercenaries after me again and keeping MY treasure. I am not so stupid as he thinks.' The wolf considered a solution. His relationship with Shere Kahn was based on mutual benefit, definitely not mutual trust. 'I know... We will ship via a _third party_ who will bring me my ransom.' He tapped his chin. 'Now how can I convince that conniving tiger to use the third party of my choice?'

Coming next in **Chapter 11 "A Plan in the Making or A Puppet on a String"**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


	11. Chapter 11 A Plan in the Making or

**A Little Becky Will Do**  
By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "_A Little Becky Will Do_" are copyrighted ©2009-2010 by Will Wolfshohl and Douglas Helm.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website. The **complete **story is available on ShoujoFiction.

**Chapter 11 "A Plan in the Making or A Puppet on a String"**

"**D**o-bee-do-bee-do..." Baloo Bear sang as he rolled the Seaduck over in a lazy barrel roll. Rebecca Cunningham (who was belted in the seat with Molly) giggled and clapped her hands. Her older companion gave her diminutive mother a dirty look.

"You seem pretty happy, Papa Bear. What's gives?" Kit asked and then speculated, "A party at Louie's?"

"Can I go?" Molly instantly demanded.

"There isn't a party, and even if there was, Pigtails, you wouldn't be goin'," Baloo commented. He glanced backwards just in time to see the golden bearess cross her arms and scowl at him. "Does that mean you want to go straight to bed when we get home?"

"No... DADDY," the six year old huffed.

"Then sit up straight and show me and Becky how much of a good girl you are," the gray bear instructed her. The cub frowned but did as she was told. Satisfied for the moment, Baloo turned back to Kit and answered the young bear's question. "No party, Kit, but Louie told me about the one last night. Apparently, a large group of ex-military types hit the Vulture looking for the same thing we're looking for."

"Somebody _else_ is after the machine?" Molly deduced, eyes widening in panic. 'I don't want to be stuck with BECKY.' The kid was definitely cramping her style.

"What machine, Molly?" said subject chimed in curiously.

"The one that turned you into a little kid, stupid!" 'Jeez!' Molly hissed.

"Quit being mean! I ain't stupid!" the smaller bearess whined.

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"YOU ARE TOO!" Molly thundered, her shrill voice echoing off of the cockpit walls.

Rebecca took a deep breath and then said in the sugariest voice that she could muster, "I'm rubber, and you're glue. Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you!" Unfortunately for Kit, he laughed at the juvenile comeback. Molly gave the young navigator a betrayed look, which he failed to notice.

Baloo only sighed. "Take over for a second, Kit," he requested calmly as the two little girls continued to squabble behind him. Once the preteen had taken the yoke firmly in his paws, Baloo levered himself up out of his seat and retrieved both children. Tucking one under each arm, he headed for the cargo hold, closing the door on the way out with his foot.

Several minutes later, Baloo reemerged alone and settled himself back into the left seat. Seeing the questioning look on navigator's face, he explained, "That cargo netting makes a handy hammock. They're taking a nap, or at least being quiet." 'If they know what's good for them.'

Kit nodded and then asked, "Okay... So what did Louie say, Baloo?"

Before he answered, the big bear stretched, got into a comfortable position, and folded his arms across his chest, apparently not in any hurry to take control of the plane away from Kit. "It seems that these yahoos showed up at Louie's last night, blew a wad of dough big enough to choke an elephant, and let a few things slip, like the fact that their raid on the Iron Vulture went bust."

The cub listened to the rest of the story and then speculated, "This feels like a setup, Papa Bear."

"Sure it is, kid!" 'I ain't as dumb as Kahn thinks I am.'

"Huh?"

"Who do we know that's looking for the same thing we are?"

"Well Kahn, but didn't he say something about the government, Baloo?"

"Yeah, Kit, but I don't see the government hiring a bunch of mercenaries, do you?" When the twelve year old shook his head, the older bear continued, "Now there's a chance that somebody else found out about this, maybe one of Kahn's competitor's or somethin', but my money's on Shere Kahn himself."

"I dunno..." the younger man admitted while shaking his head in doubt. 'If I were their boss, I wouldn't let them near a place where they might blab about my operation.' Aloud, he remarked, "I doubt any mercenary group worth its salt would just let stuff about their last job slip." It was the same for Karnage's pirates when he was still with them. Loose lips meant severe punishment or worse, as some pirates had found out to their utter dismay. Kit frowned when he noticed Baloo smiling. "What?"

"That's just it, kid. Kahn, or more likely one of his cronies, planned it so I would find out," Baloo reasoned.

The young bear considered that for a minute or so before saying slowly, "So... let me get this straight... You think he told those mercenaries to celebrate at a place where you go to a lot so you would likely hear about whatever those goons let ACCIDENTALLY slip."

"By George, I think he's got it." The big bear winked.

"Doesn't seem like the straightest course, Papa Bear. I mean he wants it back almost as much as us. Why not just tell you?"

Baloo regarded his young navigator for a long moment before saying, "Kit, you're smarter than that!" When the preteen gave him a puzzled look, he explained, "Think! Kahn, and Karny for that matter, always gets OTHER people to the dirty work for 'em." He made a face. 'Like me...'

"Can't argue with that," Kit agreed with a tone of sourness creeping into his voice.

"Well, we know that Kahn snuck that doohickey out of Cape Suzette on the QT so the government couldn't get their paws on it. So he's gonna put as much distance as he can between that thing and his company and still keep control."

Kit pondered his mentor's words for several seconds before only shaking his head. After another moment of silence, he asked, "So what's the plan, Papa Bear?"

"The plan, Li'l Britches, is that you plot us - me, you, and Wildcat that is - a course to Pirate Island. We go in there tomorrow and nab the machine, or try to."

"And where are Molly and Becky going to be while we're off doing this? They'll wanna come along."

"I figure I can sweet-talk Crystal's mom into watching '_the little ones_' for us." 'I hope we'll be back to get them.' It was going to be a risky and dangerous mission.

The preteen frowned and then remarked, "I don't know about that, Baloo. Becky promised her that Crystal could spend the night with Molly in a couple of days. She might not like being put upon so soon." 'Maybe Cindy could babysit them.'

"Yeah, I know. That's why we gotta be quick about this."

Kit agreed. They had little choice now. "Maybe I should try and hunt down Dr. Zivaldo and tell him we're bringing his machine back," he suggested.

"I dunno, Kit, ol' Kahny might not like you sniffing around his _pet_ professor." Baloo then shrugged. "Eh... I don't s'ppose it would hurt. It'd save us some time... Probably let Kahn know we're going to get it too... if he don't already."

"And what if we can't get it back?"

The big pilot was silent for so long that Kit at first thought he wasn't going to answer his question. But then, Baloo almost muttered, "Well, I'll just be a dad again."

'Again?' Kit wondered.

# # # # #

Late afternoon sunlight painted the Cape Suzette cliffs fiery orange, red, and gold while a few puffy white clouds dotted an otherwise clear blue sky.

As Kit Cloudkicker closed the front door of the Higher for Hire office, he let out a long low sigh of mingled relief and exasperation. Giving a slight shake of his head, the young man crossed to the edge of the wharf and sat down, letting his feet hang over the edge.

'Man!' Kit thought, 'I just can't figure those two out... ' He grimaced. 'If we don't get that machine back soon, I might have to go join the Thembrian Air Force again to get some peace and quiet!' He paused, looked out over the harbor, drew in a deep lungful of salt air, and blew it out again. The preteen glanced over his shoulder as voices drew close to the open window by the stairs.

"But Baloo!" Molly's high-pitched voice whined. He watched the golden-furred cub pass by the window so deeply involved in her argument with her supposed father that she didn't even notice him outside. They passed out of sight as they went up the stairs even though Kit could still hear the six year old complaining.

Rebecca's face appeared at the window for a brief moment, her face revealing her unhappiness before she also disappeared up the stairs in Baloo's wake. Rebecca and Molly had kept their truce right through the end of supper. Their goodwill had evaporated though when Kit, foolishly perhaps, suggested to Baloo he should go look for Dr. Zivaldo. Molly had immediately wanted to accompany him, and since little Rebecca wasn't going to let her big sister have any advantage where "_her boyfriend_" was concerned, she immediately announced she was going as well.

'I'm glad Baloo squashed that idea,' Kit remembered as he turned his gaze back up the waterfront, more specifically to the old warehouse where he had met Dr. Zivaldo for the first time. 'I can't believe Papa Bear is actually bossing Becky around though... especially if he wants to make her an adult again. She'll be furious.' The gray bear had simply informed Rebecca that she was headed to bed now. Initially, Molly grew rather smug at that pronouncement. At least until Baloo informed her that it included her as well. He shook his head sadly at Molly's reaction. 'Baloo finally lost his temper!'

Kit had been torn between staying to watch Baloo and making an escape to avoid being dragged into the argument. The preteen eventually decided to use the opportunity make his escape. He leaving also gave the older bear some privacy to parent the two boisterous little girls. 'Besides,' Kit thought, 'Maybe I can get the doc to figure out how to reverse the process once we get the machine back!'

Baloo and he had briefly considered taking the eccentric fox along with them to Pirate Island but had almost immediately dismissed the idea. Shere Kahn wasn't likely to let them take Zivaldo and the mad genius was skittish enough as it was, without exposing him to the danger involved.

The young man rubbed his chin as he regarded the apparently abandoned warehouse about a block away from the Higher for Hire office's front door. Not long after the shrinking ray incident (he later found out), Dr. Zivaldo went to work for Shere Kahn. Nevertheless, as far as he knew, there was still equipment in there under tarps. That made it the most obvious place to begin his search. 'I wonder if he's still there?' Kit grimaced. 'I hope so. If not, how the heck are we supposed to find him?' Shere Kahn was unlikely to point out the scientist's new residence. Thinking of the ruthless tiger, another thought occurred to him, 'I bet Kahn has somebody watching Zivaldo.'

# # # # #

Dr. Zivaldo adjusted the thick-rimmed glasses on his nose and peered around nervously. He was in an alleyway, just across from his primary laboratory. 'Oh! That assistant Kahn gave me is useless!' The genius wrinkled his muzzle in distaste. 'She's smart enough but no imagination!'

He jumped at a sound behind him. Whirling, he stared into the murky depths of the dark alley. 'Kahn is watching me but I'm not as naive as he thinks. He can't know about all of my projects, can he?' Once his heartbeat had calmed somewhat, he turned his attention back to the nondescript warehouse. It was so tantalizingly close. 'Need to renew my creativity. I need to work on my other projects.' So many ideas danced around in his mind that he hardly knew which way to go. '**They can't understand!**'

After several seconds of dithering, the diminutive fox scraped up all the courage his soul could muster and dashed across the dampened street to his front door of his secret laboratory. He glanced around again as he fumbled with his keys. 'Good... No one's seen me!'

The good doctor was wrong. At least two people watched as he entered the building. One of them was part of Kahn Industries security forces; the other was Kit Cloudkicker.

# # # # #

It was dark by the time Kit got back home. There he found Baloo waiting for him. The young bear thought his guardian might start scolding him but all he asked was, "So how did it go, Li'l Britches?"

Kit shook his head. "He's just as loopy as ever." The preteen stopped and glanced up the stairs.

"They're asleep, Kit," Baloo remarked.

"I just don't know why Molly is acting like this..." The child has always been rambunctious. 'She's never been this crazy.'

Baloo walked over to his easy chair and settled himself in it. "Li'l Britches, it's pretty simple. Molly wants her mom back. For that matter, so do I. And before you ask, I do think there's some part of the _old_ Rebecca in there still. On the other hand... Well... Beckers let Molly have more of a run than I do and it's hard for the kid ta get used to that." Baloo knew from firsthand experience that children are limited on how they can express their feelings. Acting out is common. He gave the young man before him a long look. "I remember how you reacted when I tried to get on you about Dan." Kit flushed as the memories that came rushing back to him.

"Baloo..."

Baloo waved his protégé to silence and continued, "There's a mighty big difference between you and Molly, Kit. One of those is that you were used to looking after yourself so you developed the skills to do it. Molly is a loveable, energetic, and curious little girl but she's also not very responsible... Don't know many six year olds that are responsible come to think of it." He shrugged.

Kit sighed. "I know... So did you find them a 'sitter?"

"Yes. Do you think you'll have our flight plan ready by tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah. Got most of it done already," Kit replied. "It's the other part... I mean the doc gave me some notes. I can't follow them though."

"Why not show them to Wildcat, kid?" The cub blinked for a moment and then grinned.

"That actually might work!" Kit chirped. 'Let one eccentric genius look at another genius' work.'

# # # # #

That evening, a thick fog rolled in and covered the Cape Suzette harbor. Everyone at Higher for Hire was asleep or preparing for bed. Across town though in the office building of Kahn Industries, the lights were still glowing brightly. The wealthy entrepreneur lifted his head at the sound of a distant foghorn. He paused for a moment and then turned his attention back to the legal documents on his desk.

For several minutes, he sat and read steadily through the business contract until the ringing of his telephone drew his attention away. Reaching over, he lifted the receiver and said, "Yes?"

"Mr. Kahn," came the voice of one of his female executives, "Higher for Hire placed an order with our petroleum division for 1200 gallons of aviation fuel. They asked to have it delivered as quickly as possible to their cargo dock."

'Excellent.' The smartly-dressed tiger considered his options for a moment and then slowly smiled. "Please see to it that one of our tanker trucks makes delivery first thing in the morning."

"Yes sir," the woman replied and there was a click on the other end of the phone.

The tiger worked the phone for a moment to get a signal and then he dialed another number. When the other end was picked up, he declared, "The instructions I gave you today... Make sure they are carried out by dawn tomorrow. Also, send word to the Air Pirates that I accept their latest offer with the caveats we discussed." Hanging up the phone, Shere Kahn settled himself back in the chair.

'Things are coming together... Karnage asked for a third party and so I will suggest one... a fat one...' The businessman smiled ferally. 'I'm sure the pirates will be satisfied with the payment. I'll easily recoup my losses after Dr. Zivaldo modifies it.' He had briefly considered double-crossing Karnage but the Air Pirate Captain and his surly men _occasionally_ had their uses. 'I doubt Karnage will double-cross me... but just in case, I'm going to have a little insurance for Baloo Bear and his crew...'

Setting the matter aside, he turned back to the document before him. Business waited for no man after all.

# # # # #

Little Rebecca yawned as she left the bathroom. It was still before dawn; everybody but her was asleep. Only a foghorn and a buoy clanging in the distance could be heard. She paused at the bedroom she was sharing with Molly and considered the events of that day. 'Louie's was fun!' Her tummy gurgled happily at the memory of the special sundae. 'I was a very good girl. I wish I could've cloudsurfed with Kit but Big Sis was being naughty!' To be fair to the golden cub, the six year old hadn't really been that bad. In fact, the quarrel that the pair had got into on the way home had been equally Rebecca's fault. Nevertheless, the five year old would never admit to such a thing, or how much she loved and admired her new big sister. She just wished the older girl treated her a little kinder. She figured that would come in time.

The petite bearess considered sneaking downstairs to cop a cookie but then decided against such a thing. She also considered going to snuggle with Kit in his bed. However, if Molly caught her, that would cause trouble. 'And waking up Uncle Baloo would be BAD.' With that thought, she reluctantly went back to bed. She crawled in beside Molly who was muttering about Frosty Pep and Danger Woman. She lightly hugged the girl.

'Frosty Pep is yucky!' Rebecca thought sleepily. 'And why does Uncle Baloo want me to grow up? I don't want that funny machine to be used!' She vaguely remembered it, remembered being bigger, but that didn't seem so nice. She was having much more fun now. She had a sister and an uncle now. She felt truly loved. 'Uncle Baloo said we could go play with Crystal soon. I hope she's nice.' She had a vague idea of whom Crystal was, as if she'd met the bunny girl before. Had she been friends with Crystal's mommy? She couldn't really remember for certain and it was late.

Snuggling under the covers, the brunette bearess fell back to asleep completely unaware that someone else was up at the same time she was. And they were very close to Higher for Hire.

# # # # #

There was still patchy fog in Cape Suzette. The early morning sun was only a smear of white across the eastern horizon. Kit Cloudkicker frowned at the fog but then shrugged. The young man was standing beside the open cargo hatch of the Seaduck. Wildcat, ace mechanic, was currently astride the starboard wing, his head buried in the engine's guts.

"How's it going?" Kit called out. He made sure his voice was pitched loud enough for Wildcat to be able to hear him.

The lion's head popped up. He looked around for a moment, spotted Kit, and then gave a thumbs-up. "She's all topped off and ready to purr like a cuddly kitten!" Wildcat declared.

Kit tuned the mechanic out as the man continued to croon softly to the starboard engine, like a mother talking to a child. 'Gosh, I hope Becky and Molly get along okay at Crystal's today.' Baloo was gone dropping the two girls off. Thinking of the large bear made Kit check his watch. 'He should be back any time.' After glancing once more at the overcast sky, he entered the plane and made his way up to the cockpit.

Settling into the co-pilot's seat, Kit pulled out his charts and consulted them, rechecking the course he had plotted. Flying from Cape Suzette to Louie's wasn't going to be a problem unless the seaplane and its crew encountered heavy weather. That was unlikely. Fair weather was forecast when he filed their flight plan - a milk run to Louie's and back - with the Cape Suzette Aviation Administration. What was really worrying Kit (and Baloo although he was hiding it better) was the unpredictable weather around Pirate Island.

He could understand why Don Karnage had selected its location for his main base. The Air Pirates had built it on an island with an active volcano. But that wasn't the only reason. The island presented all sorts of menaces to navigation. Mixing together treacherous sea currents, high cliffs, volcanic haze, and magnetic anomalies, it had the potential for some hellish storms of a level that Kit rarely encountered anywhere else.

After checking, and rechecking, their purposed flight path, Kit put his maps away and only then realized that someone else was in the cockpit with him. He looked to his left and found Baloo sitting quietly in the left seat, a faint smile on his face. "I was starting to think you were going to burn a hole in those maps the way you were scowling at them, Li'l Britches."

Kit blinked and then shook his head slightly. "We have one mile visibility, calm winds, and a 4000 foot ceiling. Visibility unlimited above that. Altimeter two-niner-niner-four."

"Got it." He reached and set the altimeter.

"I just wish there were an easier way to get there... or maybe that we didn't have to go at all."

"I know, partner, I know," Baloo agreed with a heavy sigh. "Well, the sooner we go, the sooner we get back. I think Crystal and Becky will hit it off pretty good but I pulled Molly aside and made a few things clear."

"Like what, Baloo?"

The gray bear regarded him for a long moment and then explained, "I promised her that I was gonna do my best to get the machine back, to get her mom back, so we can get her mom back to normal but until we do, I expected her to be on her best behavior. I also told her I'd be _very_ unhappy if I found out she was naughty today."

"You did tell Crystal's mom we might not be back today, right?"

"I told her that I'd get back as soon as I could but it was hard to say exactly because we're likely to hit some rough weather on this '_run_'. I also promised her that Becky had no problem with Crystal spending the _entire_ weekend next weekend to make up for her inconvenience." The big bear grinned. "So, _Mr. Cloudkicker_, you better hope we get the machine back... or you'll have THREE little girls to entertain next weekend."

Kit quite seriously considered telling Baloo exactly what he thought of him at that moment. The cub didn't however but it was a close call.

# # # # #

"Here ya go, fuzzy," Louie said as he handed Baloo a rather large picnic basket.

"What's this, barkeep?" the bulbous pilot asked while gingerly lifting the lid of the basket before looking at his longtime friend.

Louie removed his hat with his foot and fanned himself slowly with it. The morning sunlight was warm but not overly hot. The orangutan looked past Baloo to where his men (several gorillas) were going over the Seaduck. Baloo, Kit, and Wildcat had stopped at Louie's Place to top off their gas tanks just in case.

"Call it my contribution to helping get Rebecca back," the ape declared, giving the gray bear a serious look.

"Thanks, Louie. You didn't have to though."

The orangutan grimaced slightly and then shook his head. "Rebecca's a friend, but more than that, I owe her. She pulled you out of that tailspin you were in since THE funeral." Baloo looked away for a moment and then let out a long sigh before he turned back to nod while meeting his longtime friend's eyes. "I didn't say nothing then. You're a big boy but I didn't like it. Rebecca helped set you get back on course. The fact that you aren't even tempted to keep her this way to replace... well..." He shrugged and replaced his wide-brim hat.

"I was, Louie... for about three seconds," Baloo admitted. "It'll be hard to get Becky back to normal but it's the right thing to do." He owed that to Molly and Kit as well. He made a face. "She reminds me so much of my little girl..."

Louie regarded him for a moment and then offered lightheartedly, "Y'know if you wanted another kid, you could always marry Rebecca."

This made Baloo laugh; his face lightened. "Naw, Louie. We're friends but I don't think either of us wants that type of relationship. I know Molly wanted that but I don't think she's found my... '_daddy skills_' to be up to her expectations." The ape chuckled at that.

"Well fuzzy," Louie began, "Who knows... Maybe with your luck, you'll stumble on a younger FEMALE version of Kit to raise one day." He had to laugh as his friend's face paled at the prospect.

# # # # #

Aboard the Kahn Industries Ship Sutherland (one of the conglomerate's pocket battleships) about twenty miles from Louie's island, Captain Garth Weber was working in his day cabin. He and his ship had been entrusted with an important mission. The lion was sitting at his desk in his sea cabin updating his log when a knock came at his door. "Enter," he called out after marking his place.

The door opened and his executive officer came in. "Captain," the XO announced, "Radio reports that our target is moving again. Signal strong."

Captain Weber glanced at the clock on the wall and then nodded. "Very well, Number One, adjust our course appropriately. All ahead flank. Then have Radio contact Kahn Tower..." The XO quickly pulled out a small notebook from the pocket of his uniform poised to write. "Message: Target is moving. Continuing to track as instructed. Position... Fill in our position. Course: Fill in our course. Will advise. KIS Sutherland."

"Aye aye, sir!"

'I wonder if we'll actually find Pirate Island?' the lion thought, 'That would be nice. I'd love to help eradicate that pit of vipers once and for all!'

Coming next in **Chapter 12 "Return for Plunder"**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


	12. Chapter 12 Return for Plunder

**A Little Becky Will Do**  
By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "_A Little Becky Will Do_" are copyrighted ©2009-2010 by Will Wolfshohl and Douglas Helm.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website. The **complete **story is available on ShoujoFiction.

**Chapter 12 "Return for Plunder"**

**G**ibber cast a nervous glance upwards at the rock ceiling high overhead as the ground shook slightly. He'd never come to terms with the fact that the main pirate base resided on the same island as an active volcano. While the thought of being incinerated by lava wasn't a pleasant one, neither was being crushed by a cave-in.

The pirate _and_ spymaster lowered his gaze to regard his captain warily. Don Karnage was sitting in his usual place at the head of a long table; the wary wolf had one leg casually thrown over the left arm of the ornate chair while he filed the nails of his right paw.

"Ah!" Don Karnage said, pausing in his grooming, "I cannot wait... That bulbous bear Baloo is coming and bringing with me my treasure for Kahn's machine and he is not knowing anything about it!" He cackled a little and then pointed the nail file at Gibber. "Go, and make sure that those lazy sea slugs are packing the machine neatly away!"

Gibber frowned, inwardly at least. Nevertheless, he pushed away from the table, got up, and stalked towards the exit just as Dumptruck and Maddog came strolling in. "You wanted to see us, Cap'n?" Maddog asked in his nasally voice.

"Yes," Karnage snapped and straightened, "I have an important job for you two." He fixed both pirates with a calculating look.

"Da, what is it, Captain?" Dumptruck asked in thick Swedish accent.

"You are to go and keep watch for the Seaduck," Don Karnage ordered. "You should know what it looks like I am thinking since you idiots always lose to Baloo."

"We'll get him this time, Captain!" Dumptruck promised. He pulled out his pistol to emphasize the point. Maddog mirrored the action as his own face took on an excited look.

"You will not be '_getting_' anyone!" their leader roared, "He is bringing us _my_ treasure."

"But Cap'n..." Maddog began quickly holstering his weapon. He then gulped as the Air Pirate Captain withdrew his saber from his scabbard. "Can't we capture him after he lands? Then we could keep the machine and the treasure."

Don Karnage cocked one eyebrow and then stormed across to loom over his minions. "I am thinking that you are to be forgetting who is the captain, yes/no?" the wolf stated in a dangerous and menacing tone of voice. As he did so, he placed the point of his saber against Maddog's throat. "Now, Maddog, what are MY orders?"

# # # # #

"Boy," Wildcat commented, "Those are big fish!"

Kit Cloudkicker lifted his gaze from the map he'd been studying to glance out his window where the mechanic was looking. "Uh... Wildcat, those are whales."

"Really?" The mechanic sounded awed.

Mentally shaking his head, Kit turned back to his map and then checked the compass heading on the instrument panel. "Okay, keep your eyes peeled for an island that looks like a heart with a bite out of it," Kit told the two older men, "It should be on our left at about ten o'clock." It was the only landmark for 100 miles.

"Roger, Navigator," Baloo commented. He started scanning the ocean below them. "When we find this island of yours, what then?"

"We turn due south, one-eight-zero degrees. I'd recommend climbing as high as we can after that... just in case."

"In case of what, Kit?" Baloo wondered, turning his head to regard the younger bear.

"In case we have to glide in. Sometimes if the volcano is actin' funny and spewing stuff out, it can mess up the engines of the planes." He knew Ratchet (the pirate's chief engineer) had installed special filters on the intakes of the Iron Vulture for precisely that reason.

"What does it do to them?" Wildcat asked worriedly.

"At best, it clogs up the intakes; at worst, it pits the cylinder heads and seizes them up."

"Oh those poor engines," Wildcat lamented, "I can hear them cryin' '_Help us! Help us! We're all stuffed up._'" He emphasized it by dramatically acting like a person choking to death.

Baloo, who by now had turned back to scanning the ocean, mused, "Can't go too much higher... We ain't no military type plane ya know but I'll do my best, Britches." He then thought, 'It'd save fuel too. Lower down, you got more air to push through. We may need the extra fuel.' A few moments later, he announced, "I think that's your island, kid. Take a gander." Kit moved from his seat to peer out Baloo's window.

"That's it, Papa Bear," the cub confirmed. "Now if we don't run into anything too serious, we'll be there in an hour or so."

"You call flying close to an active volcano NOT serious?" Baloo asked the preteen incredulously.

"Well," Kit said philosophically, "There's always the waterspouts."

He gulped. "Water... spouts?"

# # # # #

"Captain?"

Captain Weber, who was sitting in the command chair on the bridge of the KIS Sutherland, turned to regard the officer who had approached him, "Yes?"

"Sir, Radio reports target has changed course to..." the young ensign consulted his notes, "One-eight-zero. Radio also reports that the signal is still good. Distance approximately fifty miles."

"Very well. Helm, right standard rudder. Come right to one-eight-zero."

"Right standard rudder," the helmsman repeated as he spun the wheel, "Coming right to one-eight-zero, sir."

"Very well."

"Mr. Hunter, you have the Conn."

"I have the Conn, sir," Lieutenant Hunter (the Officer of the Deck) repeated.

"Very well." Lifting himself out of his chair, the captain moved over to the plot room where a large chart of the area was laid out. His executive and navigation officers were already waiting there. "Mr. Hobbs, what do our charts show us in that direction?" he asked his navigation officer.

# # # # #

'Oooo! When Uncle Baloo hears how naughty Molly's been, I hope he gives her a good spankin'!' Rebecca Cunningham thought. She, Molly, and Molly's friend Crystal, were sitting on the front porch of Crystal's home enjoying a midmorning snack.

'I like Crystal. She's really nice!' the five year old brunette bearess decided as she nibbled on an apple slice next to the girl, 'But why is Big Sis being so grumpy?' A very small part of her mind thought that it knew the reason. Yet when she tried to reconcile that vague idea, it just didn't make much sense to her.

Of course, Molly wasn't really misbehaving; she was simply jealous. Crystal, HER friend was getting along well with her "_little cousin_" - too well! It never occurred to the golden-furred cub that the reason the bunny girl liked Rebecca was because she found in the younger child something of a kindred spirit.

All Molly knew was that the five year old, her own mother, was horning in on her friendship with Crystal... and she didn't like it. Baloo couldn't get back quick enough in her opinion to turn her mommy back to normal. 'I should've gone with Baloo,' Molly thought, 'That way, I could've made sure he did this right!'

# # # # #

"Oh mama!" Kit's head came up at Baloo's awed tone. He blinked as he saw the first hints of the fiery volcano of Pirate Island off in the distance. Before them though lay jagged peaks that rose into the air like some monster's fingers. Below them, the sea was uneasy, a dark gray color. It was easy to see why the area was avoided. The sea roiled as the contradictory currents played amongst the many shoals, reefs, and shipwrecks that posed hazards to any ships that dared approach. Even so, the cone was the billowing pillar of fire racing into the sky topped by a large dark cloud that drew their eyes. "I would've never been able to find this place again without ya, partner!" Baloo commented while reaching across and cuffing Kit's shoulder. There were multiple course changes were required as well as flying through a high canyon pass to avoid all the hazards.

The young man smiled at the praise. It didn't last long though when he observed the fuel gauges and did a quick calculation in his head. 'Uh-oh... Will we have enough to get back?' He decided to double-check. "Do you think we have enough fuel to get the machine back to Louie's?"

"I think..." the gray bear began then paused. He glanced at the fuel gauges on the instrument panel while cupping his chin. He made a mental calculation assuming the added weight of the machine on the return flight. "We'll be fine gas-wise, Li'l Britches, but we might be on the reserves by the time we get to Louie's though." At Kit's worried look, he shrugged. "Don't fret... If we're close to Louie's, we're only a radio call away from help." 'At least, the kid has a positive attitude that we WILL get it back from pirates.' Deliberately changing the subject, he asked, "Okay, Kit, what now?"

"Um..." The cub pulled his eyes away from that fiery mound from Hell while simultaneously fighting back all of the unpleasant memories that wanted to come rushing back into his mind. "Well, Papa Bear, do you wanna knock on the front door and ask them for it back nicely?" Baloo gave him an odd look at the sarcastic comment and then chuckled.

"Nah, I don't think the pirates would be happy to see us and I don't fancy traipsing around with that smoker going off neither," Baloo offered with a grimace. Even as he said that, the lava fountain shooting into the air seemed to subside and drain back into the crater. Nevertheless, it still illuminated the underside of the dark cloud in an angry red glow.

"There's a cove and an old dock on the southeast side of the island," Kit suggested. "It's there for an escape route and they don't usually guard it. Not too far from their main base and it'll give us some cover."

"All right, Kit, you guide us in but before that, you gotta promise me something."

"What Baloo?" Even Wildcat turned to stare at his friend.

"If things turn ugly, you fly the Seaduck outta here and back to Kahn, and tell him where Pirate Island is."

"Me?" Kit squeaked, eyes bugging out, "Are you nuts?"

"No," Baloo said grimly, "It's just in case Karny decides to feed me to that machine of his. Promise me." He had a hard enough time flying as Kit (when they switched bodies). He probably couldn't do it if he were Rebecca's age.

"But Baloo..."

"Wildcat will help you if you need it, if you need to get us out of here but..." The big bear shrugged. The preteen cub swallowed hard and gave his mentor a profoundly unhappy look.

# # # # #

"Cap'n!" Don Karnage startled leapt forward, pivoting. As he did so, he let out a shout as he and the mirror he was standing in front of toppled to the ground. The wolf winced as he heard the large mirror shatter into a million pieces as it landed.

"Maddog!" he growled, bearing his teeth as he got up and drew his sword, "Are you not knowing that to break a mirror is seven years bad luck?"

"Yes, Cap'n, but..." Maddog stopped talking as his captain's sword point stung the underside of his chin.

"You will not be having to worry for long about that I am thinking," Karnage hissed sweetly.

"R-Really?" the nasally dog asked hopefully before wincing slightly as the point dug into his skin drawing a bit of blood.

"Oh yes... **FOR YOU WILL NOT BE LIVING THAT LONG!**" Don Karnage roared.

The scrawny pirate jerked backwards and putting up his hands pleading, "But, Cap'n, you wanted me to tell you right away when we spotted the Seaduck."

Karnage froze for an instant and then he lowered his sword, just a little, and asked, "Idiot, did I tell you to burst into my private quarters and be disturbing _my_ magnificent self?"

"N-No, Cap'n. S-Sorry," the pirate stuttered.

"Well... Now that you've disturbed me. Tell me where they are?"

"It looks like they're heading for the Southeast Dock," Maddog informed his leader. "Dumptruck is still tracking them."

Karnage considered this for a moment and then nodded in decision. "Very well. Maddog, go and find Gibber and tell him that I want to see him. Then go back and make sure Dumptruck does not lose them. We will let these flyboys climb into my brilliant web!" As Maddog turned to leave, his captain held a paw up. "Wait!" The pirate paused. "After Baloo and his friends land, this is what I want you to do..."

# # # # #

Baloo Bear was apprehensive about being this close to an erupting volcano, even if said eruption seemed contained to the far side of the island. While he'd been on Pirate Island once before, Baloo had been a tad too busy worrying about saving his friends' (not to mention his own) lives to fret about such things as lava and choking ash clouds. Now the volcano was quiet although he imagined that he could hear it grumbling to itself.

Giving himself a shake, the large pilot turned back to his two companions. The three of them were standing on the Southeast Dock. It surprised him that although the dock itself was old, it appeared well maintained and sturdy - and best of all, deserted. "Okay, Li'l Britches, now what? How do we get in?"

The cub gestured towards what was apparently the only path that led away from the dock. "That way for now. There's a fork in the path about a hundred yards in." He regarded the older bear. "The sneakier way would be to take the right fork, but it might not be safe since it crosses over a crack where you can see the lava sometimes." Baloo paled slightly. "The left-hand path will take us all the way to the main hangar but it's always guarded." He then said confidently, "They're both have booby-traps but I can take care of them."

"I'd rather take my chances with the pirates than with that thing, Kit. He pointed at the still grumbling mountain of black rock in the distance. "We'll take the left one... Well, let's get going."

As they began walking down the path, Kit asked nonchalantly, "Baloo, did you ever come up with an idea to get the machine away from the pirates?"

"I'm workin' on that, son. I'm workin' on it," Baloo replied although he didn't sound too confident.

# # # # #

Inside the radio room of his battleship, Captain Weber asked, "Any luck?"

"No sir," the cheetah petty officer manning the radio replied straightening up in his chair, "We've got the course and estimated speed of the target at the time we lost the signal completely. We haven't reacquired it since."

"Recommendations?"

He turned to his captain. "I don't know enough about the area to make a firm guess, Captain, but given how we lost them and the high static levels, I'd say it was geological rather than mechanical failure or manmade interference. Perhaps, we'll clear it soon."

The captain grunted. "Very well. We'll maintain this course and speed, and hope we can get lucky. Keep your eyes and ears open for anything." 'The boss won't like it.'

"Aye aye, Captain!"

# # # # #

"I don't like the sound of that," Baloo muttered to himself as he felt the ground vibrating slightly. The volcano hadn't spewed any more lava but it was still belching smoke like a house with a chimney fire.

"Oh but Baloo," Wildcat piped up from his spot behind his large friend, "That's the same sound that your stomach makes when you haven't eaten in awhile."

The bear opened his mouth to reply but his attention was attracted to Kit who was leading their little group. The young man's shoulders were shaking slightly and he sounded like he was making gagging noises. "Something wrong, kid?" Baloo asked in a silkily sweet voice.

"No..." the cub replied, his voice obviously quavering with his effort to suppress his laughter, "Wildcat does have a point though."

"Well the '_Boss Man_'," the older bear began as he patted his stomach, "Is important. At least, I don't have a sweet-tooth like you do."

"I do not!" Kit protested, though he felt his face heating up. "But Krakatau Specials are... special. It's not like I get them _all_ the time or anything." 'Like Molly.' Wanting to change the subject, he wondered out loud, "How do you think it's going over at Crystal's?"

# # # # #

Somewhere in Cape Suzette, little Crystal sneezed. "Bless you," Molly said.

"Somebody's talking 'bout you, Crystal," Rebecca commented.

"What?" Crystal questioned. Her friend's cousin was fun to play with, even if she was a _baby kindergartner_.

"They say if you sneeze, someone is talking about you," Rebecca reaffirmed.

"Who'd be talking about Crystal?" Molly wondered, a scowl on her face.

Rebecca rolled her eyes at this and then for a little fun offered, "Well, it's obvious, ain't it? A famous movie director!"

Crystal giggled for a moment and then embellished, "Yes, I'm a beautiful starlet and he wants me to star in his next picture." The six year old bunny girl stood and struck a pose like some of the movie stars she'd seen in the magazines that her mother liked to read. Molly's scowl grew deeper. "You two can be my assistants."

"No way! I'm the star!" the golden-furred first-grader protested.

"Come on, Big Sis, be a sport," Rebecca pleaded. 'She's just pretending.'

# # # # #

Kit Cloudkicker wiped sweat from his brow and glanced back over his shoulder to see how his two friends were faring. "Is it just me," Baloo panted out, "Or is this place gettin' hotter?"

"We're getting close to a vent, Papa Bear," Kit confirmed, pointing to his right. The big bear turned and for the first time noticed a place in the ground where steam, or other vapors, were flowing out and swirling into the air. Luckily, they weren't noxious. "It should cool down in a little bit... once we cross it."

"Cross it?" Baloo repeated and gulped. "Please tell me you're joking, Li'l Britches."

The preteen cub shook his head. "See that big rock?" Kit asked as he pointed to a large boulder in the distance.

"Yeah."

"Well, there's a rope bridge over the crack just around that rock." Kit frowned for a moment and then continued, "Maybe we should stop on this side of the boulder and make sure the coast is clear. Sometimes, they send a guard out this way."

The lion mechanic glanced about and wondered, "What would he be guarding out here?"

"Might not matter, Wildcat. Karny might just send someone out here just 'cause he was mad at them," Baloo speculated. "But you're right. I haven't seen much out here that needs guarding. It was tough enough getting here past those booby-traps. I couldn't've done it on my own. Kit's right though. We should stay on our toes. Wouldn't do to get caught."

# # # # #

Don Karnage sat in the main meeting hall, his left leg thrown negligently over the arm of his favorite chair as he leaned against the back and right armrest. He hummed to himself as he cleaned his fingernails with a penknife. He was only half-paying attention to his motley crew milling about him.

He paused for a moment as he noticed Gibber enter the room and come towards him. "Ah Gibber, what news have you brought me?" The Air Pirate spy leaned over and whispered in his captain's ear. "So that bulbous bear is making his way here then?" His advisor nodded. "Excellent!"

Gibber frowned, clearly distraught about something. The Air Pirate Captain straightened before turning to face him. "You are wondering, I am thinking, why I am not taking Baloo and his little friends prisoner right away, yes/no?" His minion nodded. "It is simple, Gibber. Why should we do the work when they will come to me?" He cackled. "I ordered Maddog and Dumptruck to move his plane to the main hangar so it can be searched." 'I will see if that tiger has tricked me.' He doubted it but it paid to be careful. "Others are keeping an eye on them." The wolf smiled nastily. "And when they try to run..." He clenched his right fist. "I will be like the spider catching the pesky fly!"

He congratulated himself on his genius and settled back further into his favorite chair. "Ah Gibber, just think... Baloo has come and brought me my treasure." He smiled at the thought. 'It was too bad that Kit decided to leave my wonderful tutelage. But at least, he won't be able to take my captain's chair like I took this one.' His smile grew broader as that memory brought for another thought, one from when he was younger, 'What is that saying? Is it not the student one day who becomes the master? Well I did, and I claimed my prize.'

# # # # #

"Whoa!" Wildcat crowed as he stared at a petrified tree, "A cement tree!" He rapped it with his knuckles. "It must give out some heavy fruit, man." The scruffy lion missed the pained looks his friends gave each other.

Baloo watched the mechanic inspecting the fossilized tree for a moment more and then turned back to his young navigator only to find him frowning as he looked about. Something was obviously bothering him. "What's up, Kit?"

"We've only seen the one guard so far; back by that vent we passed over." The preteen frowned up at his mentor. "There should have been another one out here." It had seemed almost too easy to knock out that guard. Kit had lured the pirate behind a huge boulder and Baloo took care of him. Shaking his head slightly, he explained, "I know you say it would be difficult to find this place but Captain Karnage wouldn't just leave this entrance unguarded."

Baloo lifted his cap and scratched his scalp for a moment as he considered about what the younger bear had said. "So you're figurin' we should've seen another pirate or two around here." He looked around. It was deserted. "It's been awhile since you were here though, Kit. Maybe ol' Karny might've slipped a little." He paused and then continued after a moment, "Or maybe we got lucky and the Vulture ain't here."

"Maybe..." the bear cub sounded dubious, "That would explain the lack of pirates..." The pirates left behind at the base tended to be more lax when Karnage was away abroad his airship. "But if the Iron Vulture ain't here, we better hope the cargo IS." He didn't add that they both hoped the Dr. Zivaldo's de-aging machine was in the main hangar so they didn't have to sneak around searching for it. It seemed a logical assumption since neither bear thought the pirates would move the heavy machine far after unloading it.

The big pilot settled his cap firmly atop his head and stated, "Well, we should be gettin' a move on, guys. Here or not, the quicker we find that gadget, the sooner we can get home."

"Yeah, but Baloo, do you have any idea about how to get it back to the Seaduck without us being spotted?" Kit asked his mentor. There was no easy way they could wheel it back to the Seaduck.

Baloo didn't answer immediately but then he sighed. "Sorry, kid, I haven't quite figured that angle out yet."

# # # # #

"Da Captain's crazy, Maddog," Dumptruck grumbled as he and Maddog led a detail of five other pirates at a quick pace towards the Southeast Dock. 'I've got a score to settle with them.' The Captain had been furious after he allowed Baloo and Kit to escape from the brig. "Why don't we just nab those noodles?"

"Because," Maddog explained, "He's the captain... Now shut up before Baloo hears you!" It would be impossible for the large gray bear (or any of his friends) to hear Dumptruck's bellyaching but the skinny pirate was becoming annoyed at his friend's incessant griping. "If you don't like the Captain's plan, YOU tell him that." He actually agreed with his large friend but he was on thin ice after the broken mirror incident. He wasn't about to tempt the Fates.

The other pirates in the detail looked on with great interest to see his response. Dumptruck, who'd been scowling at his companion, shook his head violently at the idea of openly defying Don Karnage. He had worked hard to gain his captain's trust and become a mate. He had even been placed in command on occasion when Karnage left the airship. Still he muttered under his breath as he stomped towards their destination, 'It seems too mixed up. We should just nab Baloo and torture the information out of him! Why does the Captain need to have us move the Seaduck and set a trap?'

It wasn't that the hulking Great Dane couldn't do subtle if the situation called for it. After all, he'd snuck into and back out of Cape Suzette several times without being caught. The simple fact was Dumptruck was diametrically opposed to anything that wasn't open, direct, and aggressive. Somehow, this time at least, he managed to keep the rest of his complaints to himself long enough for the phalanx of pirates to reach the dock and the seaplane moored to it.

"All right," Maddog announced to the group, "Me and..." He paused and glanced at Dumptruck and decided to toss his friend a bone. "Me and one other will fly the Seaduck back to the main hangar like the Captain wants. Dumptruck will stay here and lead the ambush. Decide who's coming with me and let's get going before Baloo loses his nerve."

# # # # #

"Now there's the wrench in the gears," Baloo muttered as he peeked over the rock outcropping at the entrance into the Air Pirate's headquarters. He grimaced and hunched back down out of sight and looked at his two friends. "Any other way in there, Kit?" he asked quietly, "Seems like Karnage doesn't want company today." The large bear didn't mind his chances against one pirate and two didn't seem so daunting, but four was a completely different matter.

Kit grimaced and shook his head. "Sorry Baloo. Not really close by," he answered in a whisper. "I could get them to chase me while you and Wildcat sneak past."

"Sounds risky," Wildcat put in. He sounded oddly worried.

"Well if we want Becky back to normal, we gotta risk it," Kit argued. "Listen, I'll draw off a couple maybe three. I'll head back for the 'Duck and lose them. I've been all over this place. They won't catch me. You two go in and see if you can find that stupid machine."

Baloo didn't like the idea but with no other alternatives, he nodded. "All right, Kit, I don't like it but you're right. Which way to the hangar from here?"

"Go in and bear left. If you get lost, just keep going left towards the water. You'll eventually get to the hangar. Whatever you do, don't go right that takes you deeper inside and if you're not careful, you might walk into a lava tube or their main hall."

"That would be bad," the mechanic commented.

"No kidding," Kit agreed. "So? Ready?" He regarded Baloo.

The big gray bear looked around and spotted two rocks on the ground about the size of baseballs. "All set," he told the younger bear, "Kinda wish I'd let you buy that slingshot now." He grinned slightly as the preteen cast him a dirty look. "Well go on. We'll meet you back at the 'Duck. You stay safe or Beckers'll skin me alive."

Kit had to fight down the urge to giggle. Nodding, he inched his way towards the outcropping's edge, took a deep breath, and jumped out. "HEY!" he shouted at the four startled pirates, "**YOUR MAMA WEARS COMBAT BOOTS!**" With that, he turned and pelted away from Baloo and Wildcat.

"COME BACK HERE!" two of the pirates shouted and dashed off in pursuit of the preteen.

"Go and report to Karnage," one of the pirates, a burly bulldog told a ragged-eared greyhound, "We're in pursuit of Kit but we haven't spotted the others, and then come back here."

"Right!" the greyhound replied and hurried inside.

"I didn't know they let women in the Army," Wildcat mused to Baloo.

The large pilot gave the lion a pained look and then made a shushing motion before shifting one of the rocks into his right paw. 'Oh mama,' he thought, 'Please let me have good aim!' Popping up, he flung the rock as hard as he could towards the lone remaining pirate.

"What the..." the bulldog began while jerking to the side to avoid the stone whizzing toward his head. He wrenched himself the other way but let out a pained yelp as Baloo's second projectile smashed into his ear. "Why you...!" he began to snarl only to be silenced by Baloo driving his fist into his jaw. The pirate flew back smashing against the rocks of the wall and slid down into a boneless heap on the ground.

"Come on, Wildcat," Baloo commanded and waited for the lion to catch up before opening the door.

"**SURPRISE!**" at least a dozen voices shouted. The gray bear's eyes opened wide upon seeing a large throng of armed pirates on the other side of the door.

Cursing his luck, Baloo turned and grabbing Wildcat by the arm started running. "But this isn't left, Baloo!" Wildcat shouted as he was dragged along.

"Those guys say different!" his big friend shouted back as the mob of pirates surged after them. Thankfully, the mob became momentarily jammed in the narrowing passageway, which allowed the pair to open up a little distance between them and their pursuers.

"I can't believe it!" Baloo moaned to himself as he ran, "When did pirates become so smart?"

"Maybe they went to school?"

For perhaps the first time in his life at that moment, Baloo really wanted to slap Wildcat. He shook off the feeling. Not only would it be unfair to the lion but it wouldn't help in the least. He suddenly realized what had happened. 'A trap... They set a trap for us! And I walked right into it!' He just hoped Kit was okay. "Let's get back to the 'Duck pronto!"

As the seconds slipped away, it seemed as if Baloo wasn't gaining any ground. In fact, the pirates were getting closer. He didn't dare look over his shoulder. Soon though, he spotted the crack in the ground that they had crossed and the large boulder near it.

The pilot's eyes opened wide as he saw Kit coming fast from the other direction. He dashed around the boulder headed right for him with a group of pirates hot on his heels!

"It's gone!" Kit shouted when he spotted his friends, "**THE SEADUCK'S GONE!**"

That brought Baloo and Wildcat to a dead halt. "My baby's gone?" Baloo repeated as numbness settled over him. He simply stared at Kit as the pirates pursuing them closed in with their weapons drawn. They were surrounded.

Coming next in **Chapter 13 "Finally! I'm Grown Up!"**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


	13. Chapter 13 Finally! I'm Grown Up!

**A Little Becky Will Do**  
By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "_A Little Becky Will Do_" are copyrighted ©2009-2010 by Will Wolfshohl and Douglas Helm.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.

**Chapter 13 "Finally! I'm Grown Up!"**

"**A**h Baloo, it is so nice that you have decided to pay me a visit," Don Karnage greeted as Baloo and Wildcat were marched unceremoniously into the main meeting hall of the pirate base. Each prisoner was forced to carry a heavy iron ball shackled to one ankle. The Air Pirate Captain was seated in an ornate throne-like chair. It had once belonged to the former captain of the Iron Vulture before (his first mate) Don Karnage "_liberated_" the massive airship for himself. "And who is this pray tell? Why it's Wildcat, the Higher for Hire's ace mechanic! Has Baloo drawn you into this trap of mine?"

"Give us the machine back!" Wildcat demanded, stunning Baloo and several of the pirates about them.

"Shush Wildcat!" Baloo hissed.

"Stealing is wrong, Baloo," the scraggly lion intoned, making the assembled Air Pirates in the hall laugh. Wildcat had a good idea of what the machine they were here for had done to his boss. More importantly, at least from the lion's perspective, he also knew that Molly was deeply distraught with the situation as it stood. Molly was a good kid. If there was anything Wildcat hated to see, it was any child unhappy. He would do anything in his power to reverse that. The best way to do it was getting the silly machine back.

"I do not steal, **I plunder**!" his captor declared.

"And what did you do with Kit?" Baloo inquired, his eyes narrowing at Karnage.

"Nothing... yet... Mr. Cloudkicker is having the friendly chat with Hacksaw," the Captain said blandly then he looked around the room. Standing, he withdrew his saber and commanded, "Leave us and close the door. Maddog, Dumptruck... if you hear any fighting in here, go and tell Hacksaw to kill the boy." He bared his teeth as he looked at the pilot. "Understand?"

"Yeah, yeah clear as crystal."

Once the main hall was cleared and the doors were shut, the wolf spent a minute checking to make sure that he was truly alone with his shackled prisoners. He then moved closer to the big bear. "So, you will be telling me where Kahn has put MY treasure, yes/no?"

"What?"

"Treasure?" Wildcat questioned confusedly.

"Do not be playing the games with me!" Don Karnage whispered harshly, "Where on your plane is my treasure?"

"I didn't see any treasure," Baloo answered honestly, "There wasn't anything in the cargo hold."

"You are lying!" the wolf captain snarled, "I warned you. Now young Mr. Cloudkicker will..."

"Easy... Just hang on there, Karny," Baloo snapped. "I said I didn't 'see' anything in the cargo hold. That don't mean that t'weren't nothing abroad the plane."

"Do not be trying to pull the wool over the wolf's eyes. You are not smart enough."

"Baloo doesn't have any sheep, Mr. Karnage," Wildcat pointed out. Both of the other men stared at him. "What?"

"Listen," Baloo began, "There's a couple of hidden cargo spaces. I normally don't use 'em but Shere Kahn might've snuck something into one of 'em."

The Air Pirate Captain gave Baloo an odd look and then did something that surprised both his prisoners - he chuckled. "Ah Baloo, that is true. That tiger is tricky." Don Karnage rubbed his chin and then speculated nonchalantly, "Perhaps Kahn planned to steal his machine back from me instead of paying, yes/no? It does not matter though, Baloo. I will find out. I will have your plane torn into itty bitty pieces to make sure that you are not hiding anything." Raising his saber again, he marched towards the door to order it. "Mad..."

"Karn... Don Karnage," Baloo interrupted putting up both paws then offered, "Listen. I said there were a COUPLE of secret compartments. Well IF Shere Kahn did send you money, it probably is in the ONE of them."

"Yes..." The Air Pirate Captain seemed reluctant to agree to the logic but he did so. "But he might not have."

Striding over to the hall door, he stood aside and flung it wide. Several pirates included his lieutenants toppled into the room. "What are you idiots doing?" Don Karnage asked in a dangerously soft voice. Several pirates vanished as if they had been made of smoke leaving a rather crushed-looking Maddog still lying on the ground. "I have a job for you, you lazy cur!"

"What is it, Cap'n?" the skinny pirate whined.

"Go and get Mr. Cloudkicker, and be quick or I will be feeding you to the volcano!" As Maddog scrambled up and away, the wolf ordered, "Dumptruck! Get a hammer and chisel so we may remove the '_jewelry_' off of our guests!"

# # # # #

The main harbor of Pirate Island was actually a large cavern nestled inside one flank of the volcano. Baloo Bear looked around in unwanted awe. He hadn't really had time to look at the hideout before but now he had to admit that it was impressive.

"Impressive, is it not?" Don Karnage asked seeming to read his thoughts as he stood beside Baloo.

"Yeah, sure is, Karnage." Baloo then let out a sigh as he spotted his bright yellow seaplane. It was moored to the dock near the Iron Vulture. "_His baby_" didn't look damaged but his eyes still searched for even the minutest blemish.

The wolf gave the large pilot a stern look. "And remember no tricks."

"I promised; no tricks. I just want the machine back. The treasure is yours." Don Karnage nodded.

"Ratchet!" the Air Pirate Captain barked, "Bring what you found over here!" A dog dressed in oil-stained overalls and carrying a large wrench came over pushing a small-wheeled cart with one hand.

"Wait a sec," Baloo declared suddenly as he regarded the item on the cart, "That's the same sort of thing Kahn used before."

"Yes, a homing beacon," Karnage smugly explained. "Ratchet found it in one of your secret compartments." Its indicators were dark so the device obviously had been deactivated.

"Shere Kahn covers all his bases, Don Karnage. You should know that," the large gray bear remarked. "Why don't we look in that other hidey-hole just to make sure? And if Kahny-baby did send you treasure, you'll have it. I promise."

Don Karnage nodded and then asked Ratchet, "Is the machine dismantled and in the boxes like I was asking?"

"Aye, Captain," the mechanic chirped and gestured with his wrench towards the crates. They appeared to be the original wooden Kahn Industries crates with "EXPERIMENTAL ENGINE" stenciled on them.

"Let me look inside them," Baloo requested.

"Ah, don't you trust me, Baloo?"

"No," the bear shot back.

"Ooh, wow!" Wildcat exclaimed with a grin, "That's a big wrench. What do you call it?"

"Is he always like this?" Don Karnage asked softly to Baloo.

The pilot shrugged. "Mostly. Sometimes it's worse." The wolf shuddered but then strolled over to the large wooden crates where Kahn's merchandise was kept.

# # # # #

A short time later, Kit glared angrily at Don Karnage as he was led over to the group by Hacksaw, Maddog, and Dumptruck. The young man was upset but he was also relieved not to have been Hacksaw's play toy this time.

"Now my traitorous former protégé," his former captain declared, "Go into the plane and be getting my treasure."

"What treasure?" Kit demanded. 'What's he talking about?'

"Li'l Britches," Baloo explained quickly, "We think Kahn hid it in one of the secret compartments. Go on and have a look in them."

Kit gave his big friend a long look, and then turned back to walk up the rear cargo ramp of the Seaduck. The group of adults watched the young bear move about inside for about a minute or so. Then he stood back as a section of the cargo hold flooring pivoted up. He reached down and grabbed at something in the revealed space; it wouldn't budge.

"Here!" Kit called out while he jabbed a finger downwards. "It's too heavy for me to move." The Air Pirate Captain's eyes lit up. He rushed up the ramp to stare down at the small metal strongbox. It was sitting inside a small compartment, just as Baloo had conjectured, lashed down to the deck.

"Treasure! My wonderful treasure!" Don Karnage sang out. He grabbed the preteen under the armpits and started swinging him about all the while declaiming poetically about treasure and the marvels of gold.

"Put me down!" the cub whined. He was surprised when the wolf pirate captain did so, though not very gently. He then watched as Karnage cut the straps holding the chest to the deck with his saber, wrestled the small but heavy box from its hiding place, and strode down triumphantly the ramp. He paused a couple of times just long enough to peer greedily inside. From the glint, it likely contained gold bullion.

"Very well," the Air Pirate Captain announced cordially, "You have delivered my treasure. Men! Move the crates into the plane and let our visitors go!"

"What about that doohickey?" Baloo asked pointing at the deactivated homing beacon.

The smile that came onto the Air Pirate Captain's face was truly evil. "Don't worry, Baloo. I will put it to good use."

# # # # #

Captain Weber abroad the KIS Sutherland turned as his executive officer reported, "Captain, Radio reports the beacon is back. A strong clear signal bearing two-six-zero. About seventy-five miles, course zero-seven-five."

"Mr. Bush, are you sure it's the one we want?" the Captain inquired.

"Aye sir. It's squawking on the expected frequency and timing."

"Very well. Navigator, plot an intercept course. Flank speed. We don't want to lose them again!"

# # # # #

Kit Cloudkicker gave a snort and bolted up in his chair in the cockpit of the Seaduck. For a long few seconds, he didn't know where he was but then his surroundings came back into focus and he heard the drone of engines. "Hmmm..." he noised as he scrubbed sleep from his eyes, "Where are we?" A soft chuckle made him turn his head to the left. He found Baloo grinning at him.

"Son," Baloo began smugly, "If you don't know where we are, then we are truly lost." His young navigator frowned and then snickered a little. "But to answer your question, Kit, we're about..." The large gray bear looked at his watch. "Half an hour from Louie's."

That did make the young bear frown. "Still?" He regarded his own watch. "I figured we be there by now."

"Strong headwind but it's swung around so it ain't so bad now. We'll land at Louie's and fuel up." He reached out to tap one of the fuel gauges. "We'll get to Louie's Island okay, but no way would we make it back to Cape Suzette."

"I can't believe I went to sleep, Papa Bear," Kit grumbled as he yawned and stretched.

Baloo shrugged. "Excitement will do that to people." Sometimes he forgot that Kit was still just a kid. He yawned himself. "But soon, we'll have this silly thing home."

"Baloo," Kit mused, "Don't you think it was just a bit too easy?"

Wildcat spoke up then from the seat behind them, "Don't look horses in the mouth, Kit, they might bite."

"Wildcat's right, kid. I'm just glad to have all three of us in one piece and that machine of the Doc's in back."

"Amen... But Don Karnage..."

"Listen, you know him better than I do, Li'l Britches," Baloo interrupted. "What's he want more than anything in the entire world?"

"Treasure."

"That's right," the pilot agreed. "Now we got it for him and Karny ain't stupid. So he's not gonna double-cross Kahn UNLESS he knows for a 100-percent sure thing that he'll get a bigger payoff for doing it, especially something that dangerous."

Kit considered that for a long moment and then slowly nodded. It made sense. "Besides when you were off at camping with your buddies last summer, me and Karnage did a little 'business' of our own."

"Oh?"

"Take over, kid. I need a stretch. When I get back, I'll tell you about his... er sticky problem I helped him with," he requested. The brown cub beside him took over the yoke of the yellow seaplane. A few minutes later, Baloo sat back in the left seat and started to describe the entire glue incident.

# # # # #

Shere Kahn was having an early afternoon lunch meeting with another business associate in an upscale restaurant when the maître d' approached him. "Yes?" he asked, frowning slightly at the interruption.

"Excuse me, Mr. Kahn, but your office called. They said it was urgent."

"Excuse me," Kahn apologized to his guest and got up. Following the hyena, he found the house phone waiting for him. "Yes," he said into the handset.

"Mr. Kahn," came the voice of his private secretary Mrs. Snarly, "We've received two messages. One from Captain Weber and the other from our man Icarus on Louie's Island. The messages seem to contradict each other."

"Oh?" the tiger raised an eyebrow, "Continue."

"Captain Weber reports that the '_Beacon located but no indication of secondary objective. Position 200 miles west-southwest of Pearl Fish Island. Course zero-seven-five. Maintaining contact._'" When her boss didn't respond, she continued, "Icarus reports '_Seaduck landed Louie's Island, refueled, and left 1300 hours. Cargo hold appeared to contain crates._'"

"Hmmm..." Shere Kahn hummed to himself as he thought. "Very well, Mrs. Snarly. Contact both parties and request confirmation." 'Obviously one of them is wrong.'

"Yes, Mr. Kahn, right away."

"Thank you, Mrs. Snarly," the well-dressed tiger replied. "Also, please let Security know our merchandise may be arriving at any time but they are not to take any action until I approve it."

"Yes sir," his secretary said and hung up the phone.

# # # # #

Baloo stretched for a moment and settled himself more comfortably. "Well, Kit, there's the Cape Suzette cliffs. We're almost home." He squinted for a moment. "I'll take over now. Air traffic seems a mite busy at the moment." There were a couple of other planes that appeared to be slowly circling outside the cliff entrance. Reaching up to the mic, he keyed it and said, "Cape Suzette Air Traffic Control, this is the Seaduck."

After a brief moment, the radio sounded, "Go ahead Seaduck."

"Seaduck with you at 2000, five miles from the outer marker. Request permission to pass through the cliffs and landing instructions."

"Seaduck, Cape Suzette Control... What is your current fuel status?"

Baloo eyebrows rose and he looked at his gauges. "Cape Suzette Control, Seaduck... We've got about two hours of fuel."

There was a long pause and then the controller came back on the air. "Roger your fuel status, Seaduck. Please be advised we have a blimp stuck in the pass. Suggest you use Approach 2 instead. Otherwise, circle and hold until clear."

"Cape Suzette Control, Seaduck... Moving to use Approach Two," Baloo confirmed.

"Roger Approach 2 Seaduck. Altimeter two-niner-niner-four, wind southwest at four."

"Roger, Cape Suzette Control, Seaduck out." He then hung his mic up. Kit noted his friend didn't look very happy as the gray bear turned his plane to the left.

"What's Approach 2, Papa Bear?" his navigator wondered.

"It's what Cape Suzette used when I was young. Now-a-days, it's used for emergencies and as an alternate like now."

"So why do you look so unhappy?"

"It's from the south, Britches. I'm gonna have to fly low across the harbor and circle around so we're finally heading west. Without a cargo, I wouldn't mind doing that but we're heavy and there's lots of traffic in the harbor this time of day. With the regular approach, we just fly straight in, do a little jigging to the left to get us lined up for home but with this..." He grimaced and shrugged. "I don't fancy circling while they try and get some blimp unstuck though. I wanna get this doohickey to Zivaldo quick-like."

For once that day, things went better for Baloo than he expected them to be and soon he, Kit, and Wildcat were back on the Higher for Hire; the Seaduck moored to the pier. "All right, Kit, go see if the Doc is at his place. While you do that, I'll go and get Beckers and Molly." He rolled his shoulders and continued, "When I get back and if the Doc is there, we'll taxi the Seaduck over there so we can unload." He turned to Wildcat. "Check over the Seaduck in the meantime, will you?"

"Right Baloo. I'll make sure she's purrin' like a friendly kitten!"

"Good!"

"Um... what about Shere Kahn?" Kit asked worriedly.

"We're gonna just pretend like we ain't back. I don't think it'll fool him for long but I don't plan on giving it back until we know one way or t'other if we can get Becky back to normal."

"Roger dodger that, Papa Bear!" Kit agreed with a grin and hopped from his seat. They had work to do.

# # # # #

Dr. Zivaldo clutched at his heart and he stared in nervous fright as a knock sounded at his door. "Oh no! Oh dear!" he whimpered while wringing his hands, "Oh dear what..." He froze as he heard a voice.

"Doc!" came the voice again followed by another set of knocks, "Doc! It's me... Kit!"

Dr. Zivaldo's eyes grew large behind his thick-rimmed glasses and he rushed down the hall to the door. Quickly opening it, he reached outside and unceremoniously yanked the young man inside. Locking the door, he turned and stared at Kit Cloudkicker. "What are you doing here?" the scientist complained nervously, "Shere Kahn could be watching!"

"I thought you said he didn't know about this place," Kit answered calmly.

"He doesn't but still..." The eccentric fox took on a worried look.

That worry vanished as the cub announced, "Doc, listen! We got your machine back!"

"What machine?"

"Your age reducing machine!"

"Really?" Zivaldo brightened. "You have it with you?"

"No, we didn't want to bring it over in case you weren't here." The scientist nodded and nervously glanced around. "If we need to do anything to get ready for it, Doc, we should do it now. Papa Bear's gone to pick up Becky and Molly. When he gets back, we'll bring it straight over."

"Good!" Dr. Zivaldo said, "Come on, kid, you can help me. I need to move some equipment around so we'll have space. And then need to find a plug, I've mislaid it somewhere."

Given the gargantuan size of the electrical plugs Zivaldo normally used for his inventions, the preteen wondered how the goofy fox could have possibly "_mislaid it_". 'Maybe I don't want to know,' Kit decided as he followed the doctor back down the hall, 'At least, he's not thinking about toast!'

# # # # #

Much later, Baloo, Molly, and Rebecca were closing in on Higher for Hire. Molly was skipping ahead, occasionally looking back, and frowning at both Baloo's sluggish pace and her mother's obvious pandering to him. Rebecca was nestled in his arms - her head was on his shoulder and one arm wrapped about his neck. The five year old was just content to be cuddled and glad that her uncle was back.

On the other hand, Molly was impatient. She demanded to know, once they were away from Crystal's house, if Baloo had gotten the "_stupid thing_", meaning Dr. Zivaldo's age regression machine. When the big bear confirmed that he had, she'd wanted to run all the way home. Neither Baloo nor Rebecca was up to running though. Baloo because, well to put it frankly, had too much mass and didn't run unless it was to food or away from danger. Rebecca didn't run because she was both exhausted from her hard day of playing and it wasn't something a "_proper young lady_" did. Now snuggling with her Uncle Baloo - that was perfectly fine.

Nevertheless, it was amazing how fast the little girl perked up when she heard Kit calling a greeting to them. Wiggling down from her uncle, the kindergarten bearess scurried towards her "_boyfriend_" who was already trying to fend off a glomming attack from her big sister. "Kit! Kit! Kit!" Rebecca sang out, bouncing as she pelted towards him with a grin, "We had alotta fun! Crystal is very nice!" 'I hope we can go back soon.' Molly, Baloo noted, scowled and clung tighter to Kit.

"Well Britches?"

"He's there and waiting, Papa Bear."

"Well, let's get going!" Molly demanded finally releasing Kit from her grasp, "Come on, Baloo, move your fat butt!"

"What?" Baloo asked, "Did you say, young lady?"

"You heard me, buster. I said move your fat butt so we can get Mommy back!" Rebecca let out a sympathetic squeak and held her breath. Kit didn't look much better.

Baloo, amazingly, controlled his temper. He didn't blame the little girl. This had been quite an ordeal for her. 'But if this doesn't work,' he thought, 'That kid's going over my knee!'

"Kit, take the girls over to Zivaldo's. Molly, be polite or you won't be able to sit for a while. Girls, you both make sure to stay out of the doctor's way."

"Roger, Papa Bear!" Kit agreed.

"'Kay, Uncle Baloo," Rebecca agreed and gave Molly a dirty look. Molly just scowled at her presumptive father.

# # # # #

"Careful!" Dr. Zivaldo demanded yet again as Baloo and Wildcat manhandled the last of the heavy crates out of the Seaduck cargo hold, up a less than sound-looking cargo ramp, and into the warehouse.

"Plum glad I don't have to lug these up another flight," Baloo thought out loud as he eased the wooden crate to the ground and mopped his brow. "Why can't they make crates with wheels on them?"

Zivaldo, who'd been jumping around like a jack-in-the-box, froze and stared at him. "Crates with wheels? Oh what a wonderful idea. Now let's see..."

"**DOC!**" Kit shouted. "That can wait until after we get this thing put back together, or do you want Shere Khan coming in and taking everything in here?"

The diminutive fox, who'd been searching in his pocket for a pencil and a piece of paper to jot the crate wheel idea down, looked up and slowly, reluctantly nodded. "No, certainly not. Just remember that idea, kid! When we have a first prototype, you can test the spiny-ness of the wheels!"

"You're the one that's spiny," Baloo muttered before looking around. He saw Rebecca sitting on a chair near the wall with a curious look on her face. The gray bear did not see Molly. "Britches, where's Molly?"

"She went upstairs," Rebecca piped up then added, "Something about a rat."

"Oh for the love of..." Baloo growled. "Kit, help the Doc and Wildcat unpack his gizmo and get it hooked up. I might be a few minutes."

As Baloo left, Rebecca got off her chair and wandered over closer to watch as Kit, the funny fox, and Wildcat started prying open the first cargo crate. "Whatcha doing?"

"Getting the machine out, Becky," Kit answered as he struggled with a pry bar, "So we can fix it and make you big again."

"But I don't wanna be big," the five year old protested then mused, "Well... it would be fun being a grownup someday but I can wait. It was really boring before." She wouldn't be able to cuddle with Uncle Baloo if she was big again.

"Don'tcha wanna be bigger... I mean _older_ than Molly?" the older cub prodded.

The little brunette chewed her lip; that was a horse of a different color. Being older than Molly would have definite advantages. If she were older, Kit wouldn't want a "_little girl_" like Molly as his girlfriend anymore. He'd want her! Especially given how naughty Molly was compared to what a good girl she had been lately.

She decided, "I guess just a _little_ older, say like Cindy, is okay. I don't want to be _too_ old... like I was, I mean."

"Yeah, Becky, I'd like you older," Kit assured her. The little girl's eyes lit up and she grinned. 'Definitely older than Cindy too!' he added silently.

"You promise?" the five year old offered cautiously, "Older but not as old as Baloo? Or when I was bigger."

"I promise we won't make you as old as Baloo." He didn't want her that old either. "Now I need to get back to work."

That was all the assurance she needed. "How can I help, Kit?"

"Go sit on the chair and keep out of the way," Kit requested as he practically stood sideways on the crate to try and gain some leverage. "I hope Papa Bear hurries up. He's got the muscle."

Rebecca left "_the boys_" to it and went back to her chair. She watched them as they first opened up one crate and carefully took out the contents out before working on the second one. She admired Kit being able to do something so hard. They'd just managed to get the second crate open when Baloo came back in the main lab. He was carrying Molly under one arm. The five year old watched as Baloo stood Molly with her nose firmly in the corner and said something softly to her.

Apparently satisfied with the golden-furred cub's response, the large bear stood up and went back over to help unpack. Rebecca's sympathy for Molly was manifestly limited. She'd been a brat all day, nothing really naughty, but Rebecca could tell she'd been perturbed that she and Crystal got along so well.

Once the contents of the crates were unpacked, Baloo let Dr. Zivaldo and his young assistant (Kit) get to work. Wildcat just stood back and watched. Rebecca sat on Baloo's lap and started to get hungry. Molly stood sulking in a corner. "Soon, sweetheart, you'll be a grownup again."

"NO! Kit said he'd like me to be _just_ as old as he is!" Rebecca stated. 'He isn't treated like a little kid.' She'd be like that Cindy girl, (like her) have a "_little_" sister, and go to the same school even class as Kit. "I didn't like being a grownup."

"No, it's hard work, isn't it Becky?" The little girl nodded seriously. "But don't ya wanna be older?"

"Well yeah but..." The little brunette shifted. "Not TOO old... like you."

"Old?" Baloo squawked in mock indignation, "I'll show you old!" With that, he started to tickle her. The five year old squealed and giggled delightedly.

# # # # #

Shere Kahn was sitting in his office watching the sunset over his city. 'So,' the tiger mulled, 'Don Karnage found my homing beacon and set a trap...' He couldn't blame the wolf for trying to fool him. 'I'll have to get R&D to create more concealable homing devices. On the other hand, the Air Pirates seem to have held up their end of the bargain.' The business magnate was pulled from his thoughts by the phone ringing. Turning in his chair, he lifted the receiver. "Yes?"

"Sir, this is Hughes in Security," the voice on the phone spoke.

"Go ahead, Hughes."

"We've just received a report that the Seaduck is parked at the cargo door by Dr. Zivaldo's warehouse. A closer inspection of the property indicates that they are currently assembling a large machine that we believe is the device that was stolen by the Air Pirates. Our operatives were not observed."

Kahn took a moment to consider his options. "Assemble a team for a raid and recovery. You will not move against the Doctor or the others until I give the word."

"Understood, Mr. Kahn!"

"Very well, Hughes, you have twenty minutes," the tiger commanded and hung up the phone. He considered for a moment and then after picking up the handset dialed a number. When the other line was picked up, he said simply, "Have my car ready to leave in fifteen minutes." Without bothering to wait for a response, he hung up the phone.

'Ah Baloo, I wonder what you will say when you see me...' The thought of what his presence would do to the bulbous cargo pilot made Shere Kahn smile. It wasn't a pleasant smile.

# # # # #

Rebecca, munching on toast and jam, watched as the machine slowly came together. She didn't know what any of it did but Kit seemed to know. That was good enough for her. She was very proud of the young man. She considered what her uncle said about becoming big again. The more she thought about being Cindy's age (twelve), the more she liked the idea. After all, Kit wouldn't want a _baby_ as a girlfriend or someone old like she used to be. He'd want someone his own age!

"Doc," Kit wondered carrying over a wire that had a single connector on one end and several others on the other, "What's this? Where does it go?"

The hyperactive fox stared at the cable for a moment and then says, "I think..." Grabbing it out of the preteen's paws, he examined the tiny printing on the connectors. "Hah! This goes into the television camera I invented. You should be smart enough to figure out the others." Tossing the cable back to his preteen assistant, Dr. Zivaldo dove into the interior of the machine and disappeared.

"Camera?" Kit mused. He inspected the single large connector; he did indeed see the word "Kamerah". 'And Becky says I'm a bad speller.'

"Oh!" Dr. Zivaldo's voice makes Kit jump. "By the way, kid, what setting should I use? How old should the little girl be?"

"Uh... boy... Twenty-two um... no, twenty-five I guess." 'I don't think she's as old as Baloo but she is old...' Baloo was _really_ old, maybe thirty, or even thirty-five! "Yeah, Doc, make it twenty-five."

"Right!" the fox chirped, "By the way, if you find anything lying around, just pick it up and put it out of the way. It's important," and vanished again.

Turning the cable around, Kit examined the smaller connectors. Each had a letter code on it. Not even fathoming a guess what they meant, the young bear went off in search of a camera.

Wildcat was in his glory. To the untrained eye, the scraggly lion outwardly displayed a simple personality and outlook on life but he was a genius when it came to machines. Also, he was motivated to help little Molly get her mother back. Wildcat didn't bother trying to correct Dr. Zivaldo. He just followed him around. If he spotted something that felt off to him, he corrected it. The manic little fox didn't seem to notice, or if he did, he didn't care.

The only thing that truly puzzled Wildcat was why Zivaldo kept muttering about buttered toast.

# # # # #

'I hope this works,' Molly Cunningham prayed. She'd been let out of the corner to have some toast and jam with Rebecca. However, she was disappointed that she had not been allowed to help the adults or Kit. 'Kit needs my help! I'm his girlfriend!' the six year old sulkily whined to herself. Unfortunately for the golden cub, Baloo had put his foot, or more correctly his hand, down firmly. He forbade her to help except by sitting quietly and not "_causing a fuss_".

'I hate being little. I wouldn't mind being zapped by that machine... if it works the right way!' the six year old mused. 'Maybe I can get Dr. Zivaldo to make me a teenager...' She was sure that Kit would like her much better that way assuming her mother was back to normal too. It seemed problematic though. 'Look what happened to Mommy. I might end up an old lady with a cane!' She definitely had doubts. 'He always gets me into trouble!' She really hated the little fox. She remembered the time she was almost eaten by a giant rat after she had been accidentally shrunk by one of his inventions.

Molly did however plan on throwing a major temper tantrum if the stupid machine didn't work. She was not sure whether she could stand another day with sweet little sister Becky, much less for the rest of her life. Even worse, having a strict father like Baloo to contend with. The blonde cub was just imagining having Lucy attack the stupid fox scientist who had caused all this trouble for her when there was a shout. Lifting her head, she saw him dancing around in glee.

"**Eureka! I've done it!**" Dr. Zivaldo cackled, "Oh my genius grows by the second." He just hoped the leftover parts were not for anything important.

"Kit," Baloo interjected, "Check that the Doc plugged the machine in. The last time he '_fixed_' his machine to make things big, he forgot to plug it in." 'We almost didn't make it out with our skins.'

Said doctor looked indignant but Kit only gave the big bear a thumbs-up. "Already did, Papa Bear. She's ready to fire up!"

"Good, come on, Beckers, up on the platform with you."

"But I'm scared, Uncle Baloo," Rebecca whined while digging in her heels. "I don't wanna be really old. Please make me like Kit and Cindy. Kit said he'd like that." She looked over at Kit to support her plea.

'Cindy?' "Becky, I don't want you twelve or five. Didn't I say I liked you older?" Kit implored. Molly's ears perked up at that comment.

"Well yeah..." 'Kit did say that... Wait a second... **That means Kit really did like me all along and not Molly!**'

"Well, this is how you're gonna be older," Baloo interjected.

"Not TOO old?" the little girl verified, still a little dubious.

"No, not too old... Just like before!" the preteen piped up.

"Come on, sweetie, this won't hurt and me 'n' Kit 'n' Wildcat will be right here."

"Hey, I'm here too!" Molly protested. 'Please Mommy.'

"Please do this and be a good girl for me, Becky," Kit declared. That was all it took for the little girl to let go of Baloo's hand and scamper onto the platform. Despite her worried look, she looked very cute standing there wearing a red with white lace trim dress and her shoulder-length brown pigtails.

"Now just stand still, Becky," Baloo directed before saying, "**Okay, Doc, let her rip!**"

"Right!" Zivaldo replied. After making a few quick adjustments, he threw a massive knife switch. "Contact!" he shouted. A sudden humming filled the air, the lights inside the warehouse dimmed and flickered before coming back to full strength. As the humming slowly grew in intensity, little Becky started to look nervous as first one sphere and then another above her started to glow. Suddenly with a crackle like lightning, energy flared and shot from one sphere to the next and then another and then the last until all four were connected with crackling with thousands of volts of blue-white energy.

"Just stay put, darling!" Baloo shouted holding his paws up when he saw the panic filling the child's brown eyes. "It's okay!" Then he crossed his fingers behind his back. He heard Kit shouting something but he couldn't make it out. Louder the humming grew, like the deep-throated roar of several airplane engines at takeoff. The lights flickered again then went out leaving the room eerily lit by the blue-white energy. Suddenly there was a blinding flash, a bang, and then... nothing.

The silence was deafening. Everyone was trying to focus again after the blinding light.

"Did it work?" That was Wildcat's voice.

"Dunno... Beckers?" Baloo asked softly.

"Uncle..." Rebecca began and then stopped reaching for her throat. "What happened to my voice?" she demanded as the lights flickered back on. Blinking, the bearess tried to move but felt heavy. Looking down, she realized something. "I'M BIG!"

"Hubba hubba." 'What am I thinking?' On the platform, Baloo saw more than he had ever wanted to see. There stood Rebecca Cunningham, once again an adult, and wearing nothing but her birthday suit. The shredded remains of Molly's borrowed clothing, which she had been wearing a moment before, were lying in a heap on the floor at her feet. He dared say she was looking a lot better than the last time he has seen her grown - more vibrant. Her long brown pigtails were hanging down tantalizingly over her bust. Cute was no longer the word he'd use to describe his boss.

"Mommy!" Molly shouted and rushed the platform, reveling in the return of her mother to adulthood. 'Now Kit will be mine.'

Rebecca ignored her. She was too busy examining her grownup body. "These are..." She prodded her chest innocently as a fuzzy memory surfaced. "Like before..."

"You're back, Mommy!" her daughter cheered although the first-grader was already having doubts.

Poor Baloo was having trouble keeping composed as he regarded the stunning young bearess. He tried to avert his eyes but he found it difficult to do.

Rebecca looked down and realized that her big sister was very small now. 'I'm the _big_ sis...' "Wait a minute..." Wheeling around, she spotted Kit and stormed over to him. 'I'm bigger than Kit too!' The young bear's eyes widened as he saw a very enraged and very naked Rebecca Cunningham walking over to him. He squeezed his eyes shut and backed way. "You fibbed to me, Kit! I wanted to be like Cindy but I'm bigger than that!" she complained.

"No!" the preteen protested, "I didn't lie."

"Yes, you did!" the brunette countered defiantly, stomping a foot, and making certain things jiggle. "**I'm too old!** No one will wanna play with me now."

Kit protested, "You said you wouldn't mind being older, Becky."

"Like YOU!" the brunette hissed, "You broke your promise! **Change me back!**" 'I'm ancient!' Being five again again was far preferable to this.

"**NO!**" Kit denied sharply, "I promised you wouldn't be as old as Baloo and you aren't." The bearess looked unconvinced standing with her paws on her hips. She looked just the same as he remembered although there was something... He couldn't pin it down but then he'd never seen her _au naturel_ either. Trying to take his mind off that and desperate to get himself out of the hole he was digging for himself, he blurted out, "Becky, I LIKE you like you are now!" He blushed. 'Oh boy, do I ever!' Although if pressed for why he liked her that way she was, he would have been rather stumped to explain.

"Really?" Rebecca asked, hope entering her brown eyes. When Kit nodded, she gave a delighted giggle and flung her arms about him. 'Now I get it. He wants me bigger than him!' Much to the twelve year old cub's shock, he found himself suddenly squashed against Rebecca's bare bosom. "Oh Kit! You're the bestest! This is wonderful! I'm bigger than Molly! Now we can go out on dates and stuff and stay up late!"

He wasn't sure how he felt at that moment, which was probably a good thing. Later in life, when the grown Kit Cloudkicker looked back on the incident years later, he'd realized that it was probably a good thing that he didn't really understand his feelings. He would have definitely died of embarrassment if he had. He understood Molly's though... The girl was scowling at her mother's childish antics and then glared at Kit so ferociously that it put any alien death ray to shame.

"W-We'll," Baloo interjected and then cleared his throat trying to regain control, "We'll talk about that later, Beckers. First, let me get something to cover..." Giddy with delight, the young woman let go of Kit, who staggered backwards, and rushed towards him. The gray bear whipped around and fixed his eyes on the distant wall. There was a strangled noise and a clang as someone fell. Apparently, it had been Dr. Zivaldo because Baloo could hear Kit over the rushing of blood in his ears calling the Doctor's name.

"Oh wow!" the twenty-five year old Rebecca's voice cried in a deeper yet childish timbre, "Lookie, Uncle Baloo! I got..." Baloo plugged his ears with his fingers before he could hear exactly what his boss had. In the chaos, he missed the intense scowl on little Molly's face. His heart nearly stopped as someone wrapped their arms about him from behind and pressed up against him. Said person hugged him hard a moment later causing him to drop his arms. "Uncle Baloo," Rebecca's voice gleefully squealed, "I get to stay up late now, don't I? Uncle Bal-ooooo."

"Yes," Baloo said, "But you need to do TWO things first."

"What? Tell me!" Rebecca demanded while bouncing up and down.

Baloo was about to die from mortification (or loss of blood flow) by then but managed to get out in a choked voice, "First, sweetheart, you need to calm down." While telling himself, she's just a kid.

"But Un..."

"You do wanna stay up late, don'tcha?" Wildcat asked. The lion's sudden question distracted the bearess long enough to let Baloo get out of her grip without needing to put his hands astray. As Baloo looked in his mechanic's direction, he could see Wildcat standing with his hands over his eyes and his back turned.

'Smart man!' Baloo thought and looked around for something to cover the exposed bearess with.

"Well, yeah... I guess..." Rebecca agreed and looked down as Molly came over to her. "I'm bigger than you are now, Molly, so Kit's gonna to be MY boyfriend."

"'Becca," Wildcat scolded gently, "It's not nice to tease Molly-cakes, she's younger than you now. Apologize to her."

"Oh, right. Sorry Bi-Molly," Rebecca declared, doing a good job of looking repentant for the teasing. "But it's true! I'm a big girl and Kit LIKES me this way!" She felt bad for her though so she offered, "You're still my _bestest_ sister." 'She don't get Kit though.' Satisfied, she danced about for a moment and then remembered what her uncle said. She immediately settled down then questioned, "Okay, Uncle Baloo, I'm calm. You said I had to do two things before I could stay up late. What's the OTHER thing I gotta do?"

"Here!" Baloo said turned away from the brunette. He tossed one of the blankets that had been wrapped around Zivaldo's machine toward her voice. "Wrap that around you, Becky, you're... You'll catch cold!" The blanket flew through the air and landed at Rebecca's feet.

As the restored woman bent down and picked it up, she was rudely interrupted by the sudden and abrupt appearance of several burly men simultaneously crashing into the room through doors and windows of the warehouse. She let out a shriek, dropped the blanket, and flung herself at Baloo in terror. Once there, she hid her face in his chest trembling.

"**All of you. Stay where you are,**" came a deep voice.

"Shere Kahn!" Kit shouted.

"How did you find me?" the fox whined.

"Toast, Dr. Zivaldo, toast... We just followed the crumbs."

Baloo's eyebrows flew upwards and his eyes bulged. 'Did Shere Kahn just make a joke?'

"Is it over? Can we go home?" Wildcat asked, peeking out through his fingers, "Molly's prob'ly hungry."

'It's hardly over,' Kit and Baloo thought together.

"Ah, I see you've managed to reverse the regression. I'm glad to see you none the worse for your experience, Ms. Cunningham." He regarded the frightened bearess hugging Baloo approvingly. "Excellent work, Doctor. I shall see you get a bonus in your pay jacket this month," Shere Kahn gloated. "Hughes, get the young lady a blanket at once."

"Yes sir." He picked up the blanked Rebecca had dropped to the ground and handed it to Baloo who immediately put it around the teary-eyed bearess to preserve her modesty.

"Now Doctor..." the tiger began when suddenly the lights went out, the humming started again. They turned their heads toward the machine. Before they knew it, another bang and a flash of blinding blue-white light came. After another moment, the lights came back up. "What happened?" Shere Kahn demanded.

Before anyone could speak, there came an unfamiliar voice from the platform. All eyes turned that way and most everyone lustfully gaped. "Kit! Becky ain't the only one who's big now!" Miss Molly Elizabeth Cunningham declared while striking a pose. But this wasn't the cute and adorable six year old blond bearess. This one was twenty-five like her mother. She had curves that didn't quit, big blue eyes, framed by long blond pigtails. Now the playing field was level!

As Baloo's brain decided to go on vacation, the machine that had caused all the trouble exploded with a bang like thunder.

Concluding next with the **Epilogue**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


	14. Epilogue

**A Little Becky Will Do**  
By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "_A Little Becky Will Do_" are copyrighted ©2009-2010 by Will Wolfshohl and Douglas Helm.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.

**Epilogue**

"**T**hat's not true!" Kit Cloudkicker's great-granddaughter Barbara protested as he completed the story.

"Would I fib to you?" Kit asked the little girl.

"Like a rug."

"Barbara Ann!" That from her great-grandmother.

"Sorry, Grandma," Barbara apologized but explained, "But no way would nobody have a machine to make people old! Especially back in _ancient times!_ You're pullin' my leg, Grandpa." Although part of her empathized with Molly wanting to become a teenager overnight.

"You think so?" Cindy Cloudkicker asked pleasantly. Kit suppressed the smile that wanted to come onto his face as the child looked uncertain. "Dr. Zivaldo was quite a brilliant fellow. He did invent television you know... Something you REALLY like." She gestured to the set sitting in the corner. "And you can even look at up in a book!" That apparently stumped the young bearess. "So, can you guess what happened next?" she asked the girl from her position beside her husband. She knew the answer of course.

"Well, Grandpa married you," little Barbara supplied. "Right Grandpa?"

"Yes, I met your great-grandmother when we were ten and..."

"Twelve dearest," Cindy corrected.

"You sure, Cindy?"

"Kit, you weren't even with Baloo yet when you were ten, remember?"

"BUT..." the child interrupted, bouncing slightly with impatience, "You DID marry Grandma, right?"

"Yes, I did," Kit affirmed proudly, "I asked her to marry me... right after high school graduation." He showed her his wedding band for proof. He decided not to mention that they had been going steady for quite a while before his proposal.

"High school? Boy, Grandpa's lucky you didn't dump him like before then."

"You're right, sweetie," Cindy agreed facetiously as she tapped the little girl on the nose.

"Cindy," Kit protested, "There was no way Baloo or Mom was going to let me marry you before that!"

"I'm sure Molly would've had something to say about it too," the old woman demurred with a grin. Kit blushed.

"Grandpa, did Molly stay big?" Barbara wanted to know.

"Oh, for about two years. The age machine was busted and Shere Kahn was really upset. He gave up on the entire idea of changing people's ages. '_Too risky, too expensive,_' he said..." Kit explained, "Then we found a way to get her back, though she went back to being thirteen rather than six. After all, Molly spent two years as an adult so she picked up a lot more experience and stuff. It wouldn't have been fair to make her a little girl again." When the time came to regress her, it took surprisingly little persuasion; Molly had found the grass was not always greener.

Surprisingly, it had been Wildcat who'd made the most persuasive argument. The mechanic for Higher for Hire didn't approve of Molly's adult form and while he wasn't too enamored with the idea of Molly as a teenager, he'd finally came to realize that she couldn't go back to being six. She was no longer that girl either, as much as he might wish it. Ironically, Wildcat was someone that she could always talk to but Kit wasn't sure if the bashful lion ever got over losing his playmate.

"Why can't you just ever say yes?" That got her a glare from her great-grandmother. Kit was too preoccupied remembering Molly.

The very attractive blond bearess had worked for Higher for Hire during those two years. People were told that she was Rebecca's younger sister although more than a few thought her the elder sibling due to her height and larger frame. Baloo, Rebecca, and Kit had been very protective of Molly for obvious reasons. Much about her was still a child. Thankfully, the former child's adult form had moderated her exuberant and sometimes foolhardy behavior.

Baloo had been right. The adult Rebecca was still inside. The petite brunette regained her adult intellect and was back to normal in a matter of days. Getting over her embarrassment over her behavior during her ordeal though took far longer. On the other hand, Molly's change in attitude was a far slower process. Once she understood though, she had a lot of guilt to assuage over what she had done to herself and her family. She worked hard to make it up to her mother. Both Rebecca and Molly were protective of Kit even though it wasn't very long before neither of them saw him as boyfriend material. Still, two beautiful bearesses doting over him certainly enhanced his reputation with the guys.

Barbara had a frown on her face as she asked, "Your mom _wasn't_ your mommy?" She had never heard that before.

"Not then, pumpkin," Kit confessed. "Your Great-Great-Grandma Rebecca adopted me not long after Molly became a teenager." He smiled fondly. "Mom asked me if it would be something that I wanted and I did. Molly wanted it too and became my little sister." A tear appeared in his eye.

"Did Molly ever give up on Baloo and Becky getting married?" Cindy asked, not wanting her husband to get too sentimental in front of the girl.

"Oh yeah, and when Mom found somebody she loved, Molly didn't make too much of a fuss." Kit smiled, even more. "He was an okay guy. Then when Molly and I got siblings..." He shrugged.

Barbara was quiet for moment and then asked, "Did Baloo _really_ spank Molly?" She couldn't fathom the concept. She'd never been spanked before and if Molly hadn't either, it must have been horrible.

"Yep, and Mom was a little more strict about things too. Of course, Molly was too old to be spanked again." He was silent for a little bit reminiscing of his old friend, his mentor. Baloo had died many years ago doing what he'd loved most - flying. 'At least, he had the Seaduck back in his name when he went,' Kit thought sadly. Rebecca had deeded it back over to Baloo before her wedding. The big gray bear remained flying for the tiny air cargo business though.

'Not many of us left,' Kit thought sadly, 'Molly's gone, Baloo, Shere Kahn, Louie. There were rumors of Don Karnage's death but he simply disappeared along with the Iron Vulture and nobody ever saw the Air Pirates again. Wildcat...' He sighed a little. He felt old.

"Okay, tell me this, Kit," Cindy interjected. "What was in the box that Baloo was so secretive about?" That was a new twist on the story she hadn't heard.

Kit blinked, coming back from his memories. "Huh? The box? It turns out that Baloo, way before he met any of us, was married with a wife and little girl. They both died of influenza when he was away. He took it very hard. He kept mementos like a couple pictures, birth certificates, and the like. He told us about it, said we were his family now, but he felt we should know." He chuckled at what happened next. "Mom hugged him so hard I thought she was going to leave permanent impressions in his stomach!" The girls laughed.

"So there really was an age machine, Grandpa?" Barbara asked again. 'Maybe I can get him to make me older like Molly.'

"Yes, there really was. We destroyed it after using it on Molly. Mom decided to keep the extra seven years that I (_mistakenly_) gave her," Kit affirmed. 'It took us - mostly Mom and Baloo - two years of hard work and worry. Quietly funding Dr. Zivaldo nearly bankrupted Higher for Hire more than once but Kahn certainly wasn't going to help us,' Kit remembered and shook his head. Plus none of them wanted the existence of the machine to become known. "Well, pumpkin, I think that's enough for now. It's getting late."

Barbara pouted. "Don't bother, little one," Cindy told her great-granddaughter, "If it didn't work for me, it won't work for you."

Kit raised an eyebrow and regarded his wife of sixty years. 'I'd argue that but Barbara's in the room.'

The End

Authors' Afterwords:

Boy, our muse tends to take over these things. Over one year from outline to finished product! This was actually meant to be a small piece. Just a short story in which Baloo had to parent Rebecca for a while. Instead, we found ourselves with a bit of an adventure. We also wanted a different ending than the standard _TaleSpin_ fanfic fare where Kit gets Molly and/or Baloo gets Rebecca and everyone lives happily ever after. But then if you've read any of our other stories, you know we like to be avant-garde.

Thank you for reading. We encourage your comments.

Please look for our next story where we return to our Sailor Moon roots titled "_To Give Warning_".

Doug Helm and Will Wolfshohl  
August 2010

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


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